


Coruscant

by Scribe32oz



Series: Tales of the Republic [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Ensemble Cast, F/M, Jedi Knights, Lightsaber Battles, Rescue Missions, Romance, Space Battles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-16 11:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 70,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14810405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribe32oz/pseuds/Scribe32oz
Summary: As the Empire celebrates its victory over its enemies, the Rebel Alliance faces its worst nightmare as Mary Travis is captured and faces charges of high treason. With factions debating the issue, the Alliance sits poised on the verge of splintering forever until Ezra Standish devises a desperate plan of rescue to retrieve the Alliance's favorite daughter. It is a plan that will require the seven and all their allies, including a Jedi Master exiled on Tatooine...





	1. The Hermit in the Desert

 

It was dark time for the Rebellion.

Not since the destruction of the Caamasi, a race who was a staunch ally of the fledgling movement, had the Rebel Alliance suffered such a paralysing blow to its morale. Across the galaxy, in every rebel stronghold and enclave of pro-resistance forces, the shock and horror was carried like a disease from one person to the other. No one could quite believe it at first but eventually their denial was eroded way and leaving its ugly mark upon all those who heard the news. When the reality sank in, it felt as if the strength had been drawn from them like a breath exhaled. The ripples of shock did not merely extend to the rebels but affected the worlds poised to join the fight but were now reluctant, because the Alliance had shown itself to be weak in any confrontation with the Empire.

There seemed no end to the ramifications caused by the capture of Mary Travis.

He had not expected to hear anything so far away from the galactic centre. Hidden away in isolation, he had thought himself beyond the reach of galactic events, especially in the middle of the Dune Sea. When he first visited Tatooine so many years ago, he had not thought much of the place. A dry dust ball on the edge of Republic space, overrun by Hutts and villainy, Tatooine did not have much to recommend itself. However, the news of Mary Travis's capture had reached Tatooine’s disinterested populace. He had a few neighbours who considered him something of an eccentric and tended to stay away. Thus he had to content himself with getting his through a small communications console he had tucked away in the small dwelling that had become his home these past three years. It was through this he heard the news and pondered what to do about it.

In truth, it was really not his problem. He was just a man rapidly gaining reputation as a reclusive hermit in the Dune Sea. It was a far cry from the old days when people had called him General Obi-Wan Kenobi though he was never quite comfortable with the title. However, the Clone Wars had required the Jedi to choose sides and for once, the Order who had always tried to remain neutral in territorial conflicts found itself fighting a battle that would see the birth of a new galactic order. In the face of such calamity, the Jedi had no choice but to fight. If only the Jedi had knownthey were still on the verge of a new order when it was all said and done, that the danger would not come from the Clone Army but rather closer to home and would them destroyed with equal ruthlessness.

He shook such thoughts out of his head because he would only get angry and that rage would twist his insides as it had done Anakin Skywalker. If he were smart, he would remain on Tatooine, maintaining his role as protector of the boy who was now noticing the strange man who sometimes watched him from a distance. Owen Lars had advised him it was best to retreat even further into the shadows. Despite the fact he saw so much of Anakin in Luke, Ben knew that the boy’s safety depended on his anonymity and though he acted as guardian to the young boy, Ben was also his greatest liability. Anyone who came in search of Ben would find Luke and so it was probably a good idea if he distanced himself from the child. Ben considered leaving Tatooine for a trip, perhaps journey to Alderaan to see how the Anakin’s daughter was fairing.

However, now that he learned of the news about Mary, Ben wondered if it was best served if he went instead to see his old friend Chris Larabee. Ben was aware just how devastated Chris had been when his wife and child had been taken from him. Ben knew all too well what it was to lose a woman who meant everything. He tried not thinking about Padme in that way but invariably he always did and wished he could forget the sorrow her leaving this world had wrought upon him. However, their relationship had always been distant, more romantic musing wrapped up in years of friendship. It was not a true bonding as Chris’s marriage to Sarah had been. Ben had met Sarah and when he saw them together, felt both sad and envious because it was something he would never have.  Still, he was happy for Chris.

When Sarah and the child Adam were killed, it was as if Chris’s soul had been ripped away. Ben noticed it as did every Jedi who happened upon him. The gapping wound of a heart cleaved into two cried out its agony from every corner of the man’s psyche and there were moments where Ben entertained real fears Chris might give in those agonies and succumb to the power of the dark side. Fortunately, it  had not happened. Chris had found himself a new fellowship in the circle of seven and saved himself as Ben had hoped he would. However, that recovery was also aided by the presence of Mary Travis. The last time Chris had come to see him, Ben was able to sense clearly the passionate emotions the Jedi had for the leader of the Territory’s rebel cell. Ben made no mention of it but was secretly pleased Chris had started to move on with his life. Second chances were a rare thing and he was glad Chris had sense enough to grab with both hands once it came along.

That is why Ben was almost certain how devastated Chris would be by her capture. Could a man survive a love being stolen from him twice? Even Ben could not answer that question and in a universe where the Jedi were quickly becoming extinct, some in the physical sense and others choosing to follow a darker path, Ben could not afford to take the chance. Chris was his friend and these days, Ben simply did not have many left to squander. He did not want to face the day when he, Yoda and that child out there on Owen Lar’s moisture farm became the last of the Jedi. Even Ben was not jaded enough to bear that. Mary had to be saved, not simply for Chris but also for the Rebellion. Luke could not hope to destroy the Emperor and Vader on his own. The support mechanism had to be there for him to do what was needed and Ben was depending on the Rebellion being there when the time was right.

The Rebellion would not survive if it were allowed to lose its members. For the conflict ahead, they would have to endure for years, until they became strong enough to challenge Palpatine’s dark regime. Ben had not intended to venture forth from Tatooine on such a dangerous undertaking, not with his young charge still requiring protection. However, fate taught him one thing after all these years and that was destiny could not be altered even with eternal vigilance. Vader had no idea where his son was and it was highly likely the dark lord would be searching for his child, not when the Empire was preparing to try Mary Travis for crimes of sedition. The exercise was purely for propaganda value, a show trial to would prove the Empire’s invincibility by the death of its enemy’s most respected commander. It would demoralize the Rebellion while at the same time convince those who might seek to throw their lot in with the Alliance to think twice.

As it was, ever since Mary’s capture, the news reported nothing else but the career and eventual downfall of the rebel hero. They described her victories at Jofa and then the effect of post combat stress addling her mind enough to commit treason against the Empire she once staunchly defended. No one who knew what the Empire was capable of believed the stories but the masses that went about their lives on a daily basis, unconcerned with the Empire and its policies, believed and began to be moved by the falsehoods. Inwardly, Ben Kenobi felt something changing in the galaxy. People were forgetting the Old Republic, they were forgetting the ideals for which it was built and lapsing into a state of indifference where co-existence and mutual need was eroded away for selfish opportunism.

Palpatine had spread this cancer through the galaxy, tainting the Force with its violence and making every Jedi whom still remembered the age of elegance weep for what once was. It would not come again, Ben realised sadly. Not in his lifetime. He had seen his destiny and he knew he would die before the age of new Jedi Order was born. He could accept it because he knew his part in making it so, would be pivotal. The saving of Mary Travis was apart of that destiny and Ben knew he alone could make it happen.

Without even seeing what was transpiring within the walls of the Alliance, he could guess the point currently being argued. It was the same with every politician he ever met. They were most likely deciding what was to be done. They would measure her life in cold statistics and decide a rescue was too dangerous, that they would risk more than they would gain by her return and therefore deem any plan to do so a less than viable proposition. In an organization composed of former Republic Senators and military officers, the decision by one would push the other to the brink of revolt and with the Rebellion would crumble.

Palpatine would win without even firing a shot.

Ben had to admire the man’s ingenuity. Palpatine had sent out a previously unknown Grand Admiral, whose only failing was he happened to believe in order above all else and thrown his lot with the Empire. The Grand Admiral had taken Mary completely by surprise because she had not known the calibre of enemy she was fighting. She surrendered herself it appeared but very little detail was given on how that had come about, only that she had been taken following a devastating attack on the rebel enclave in Wild Space. No doubt the reason for the highly publicized trial on Coruscant was to rub salt in the Alliance’s wounds, deepening the rift Ben was certain was almost at critical point.

He did not know whether or not his voice could have any weight behind it to make a difference but he had to try. For the sake of the future, Mary had to be saved.


	2. Council Meeting

The wind howled its icy gale on the barren ice planet of Hoth.

Beyond the walls of the base sometimes used by smugglers as a haven against Imperial ships who might board them and impound their cargo, there was a storm brewing. Subzero temperatures continued their downward spiral, causing a shudder in those who were unaccustomed to its icy breath, each time it dropped another degree. Hoth was possibly one of the most inhospitable planets in the galaxy. Human life could only survive here with a great deal of technology and without it, one would die it the open in less than an hour if not first beset by the large behemoths known as  _wampas_  that were known to exist in the arctic landscape. It was with a sense of irony that those who presently occupying the base were of the opinion the outside terrain of Hoth was still a great deal more hospitable then the atmosphere within.

It was the single largest gathering of rebels in one place since its formation. The attendees came from all corners the galaxy, representing a dozen races usually united in all things regarding the Alliance until now. Leaders present included the original senators who had broken away and during the collapse of the Republic. Mon Mothma, Bel Iblis, Josiah Sanchez and even Bail Organa, the unspoken leader of the Rebel Alliance were present for the meeting. They made up the Alliance Council among others and with them were numerous military commanders from differing departments and a large body of personnel from the rebel cell formerly situated in the Siraj system. They had all congregated in this most unwelcoming place in order to discuss the only subject of importance at present; the situation of Mary Travis.

Alexandra Styles climbed out of her ship within the hangar bay of the Hoth facility and felt glad she was wearing a flight suit over her clothes. Despite the climate controls within the base, there was more than enough nip in the air to make her grateful for the extra layers when she pulled back the cockpit canopy and emerged from her ship. Stepping onto the deck, she noted the hangar was filled to capacity with ships bearing the insignia of virtually every rebel cell in the Alliance. They had come from far and wide to discuss the crisis the Rebel Alliance was presently facing and Alex supposed she should not be surprised considering her own motives for being here were more or less the same. It had almost been a week now since Mary was captured and so far nothing had been done. Alex had been under cover in Ryloth when she learnt of Mary's capture and immediately left her post in order to take part in the rescue operations.

Unfortunately, it was not long after she arrived at the rebel enclave in Ryloth, did she hear there was talk a rescue might not be possible, that some factions considered Mary expendable and not worth the manpower and risk it would take to retrieve her. Alex ignored such preposterous statements, telling herself that no one could possibly think letting the Empire have Mary as a good idea. Certainly not the rebels she spoke to anyway. In fact a growing number of them, including command level officers had stated their dislike regarding the notion of leaving Mary to the Empire. The sentiment had grown, the closer she neared to Hoth until it appeared the large number of voices who were in favour of the rescue made it appear ridiculous Alex could have heard anything contrary.

Part of Alex's being here was she intended to take part in any rescue operation being mounted on Mary's behalf. Mary was her best friend, not to mention the widow of her half-brother Stephen. They had been friends since the Academy and weathered professional and personal storms, while managing somehow to maintain their friendship and to some extent, strengthening it. There was nothing Alex would not do for Mary and if that included storming the gates of hell, or in this case Coruscant, then it was a sacrifice Alex would gladly undertake for her friend. Neither she nor the greater majority of the military personnel in the Rebel Alliance was going to allow the Empire to torture, try and then execute their greatest hero.

Not while there was breath in her body.

"Alex!" Vin Tanner called out as Alex made her way out of the hangar deck.

Alex smiled, feeling the first trace of warmth in her body since arriving on Hoth. She hastened her pace to the Jedi apprentice who was the love of her life and met him in a warm embrace that culminated in a passionate kiss. For a few seconds as their bodies intertwined, her arms around his neck, his arms around her waist and their mouths ravenously exploring each other, it felt as if the universe had paused for a moment to let them enjoy each other. Alex held him close even after they had broken their kiss, feeling each other's warmth in a world whose heart was stone cold. It felt like forever since they had seen each other, not mere weeks.

"I missed you," Vin responded as he gazed into her soft brown eyes and felt as his soul melting with heat once more.

"I missed you more," she responded.

"Always got to have the last word don't you?" He gave her a look.

"You wouldn't have me any other way," she winked.

Both of them laughed and embraced once more before Vin answered. "No I wouldn't."

Unfortunately, the tender moment could not last because Alex had come here for a reason and Vin would not delay her from it when he knew how important it was to her. As a matter of fact, it was important to all of them.

"You're just in time," Vin said as they both started walking towards the center of the base where the concentration of activity was currently taking place. "They're starting up the meeting. Almost everyone is here."

"Any idea what they're going to do?" Alex asked as she linked her arm through his as they walked through the corridors.

"No," Vin shook his head unhappily. "I get the sense most of them are still pretty damn shocked by the fact that Mary was captured at all."

Alex let out a heavy sigh. "I can't believe it myself."

"I know," Vin wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed lightly as he lowered his lips to kiss her hair. "It's been hell on Chris."

Alex could not imagine what it must be like for the Jedi Knight whose love for Mary was so obvious one had to be blind not to see it. The two were made for each other and Alex knew Mary's feelings for Chris were just as passionate. Alex was furious at Mary for sacrificing herself as she had but she could also understand what led Mary to do it. In the same position, Alex was uncertain she would not do the same for Vin. She loved him just as much as Mary probably loved Chris and thus the heart sometimes made choices the mind was not entirely in agreement with.

"How is he doing?" Alex asked quietly.

"Not good." Vin responded honestly. She was the first person in whom he could truly confide how fearful he was for his master's well being and his response was an understatement. Chris Larabee’s demeanour the past week had been stormy to say the least. Vin was doing everything he could to ensure Chris did not do something foolish like attempting to rescue Mary on his own. This was hard enough to do considering how the Jedi felt about the lady but it was exacerbated by the fact there was an open debate being argued between the Alliance Council on whether or not she ought to be rescued. "He’s climbing the walls as it is. The only thing that’s holding him back from Coruscant is the fact  he’s been hurt bad and he knows he can’t do anything until he gets better."

In truth, that did not offer Vin much comfort either. When Mary had shot Chris to make good her surrender to the Imperials, it was the only means of being able to do the deed without Chris stopping her. If not for the Jedi healing trance, he would have died from his injuries and even now, the process of recuperating was slow, even with the aid of modern technology. It would be a number of days before Chris would even be fit to leave his bed, let alone take part in any rescue.

"He loves her Vin," Alex met his gaze because that ought to be explanation enough. "He doesn’t see anything beyond that."

"I know," Vin agreed, unable to deny that in Chris’s position he would not act any differently but as his friend, Vin had to do what was necessary to save Chris from himself. "I just can’t believe they’re arguing about the feasibility of whether or not we ought to get her back!" He shook his head in frustration still unable to comprehend such a matter should be debated when their course was so obvious.

"It never fails," Alex growled. "Give bureaucrats a little power and they start doing the military’s work for them. It’s all politics." The disgust in her voice was clear and without any effort on her part to disguise it.

"If they vote no to saving her," Vin sighed. "I won’t be able to stop Chris and I don’t think I should."

"It won’t come to that," Alex answered, her voice full of steel as she strode forward, eyes front as if she were preparing to engage an enemy from which there would be no retreat until she had come away as the victor. "I won’t let it."

* * *

The mood in the conference room was decidedly ugly.

Across the length of the table, the voices who spoke for the Rebel Alliance, continued to argue, each word creating more and more emotional ripples from the crowd who assembled to watch the proceedings. Those presiding over the discussions were members of the Alliance Council, most of which were former Republic senators who had been the instigators in the creation of the Rebellion they were now apart. Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, Bel Iblis, Josiah Sanchez and so many others, some who were not represented on the Council because they had not survived the Emperor’s butchery to be counted. Their unity and their courage had given birth to hope in the midst of Palpatine’s darkness and would be a beacon against oppression for as long as it existed.

Unfortunately, at this precise moment, unity seemed to be a distant memory.

The room was split into two factions; one side was for the rescue of Mary Travis and the other was against it. The difficulty arising from both points of opposing view was that they were both correct. The military and a good portion of Mary’s own personnel were screaming for a rescue mission to be mounted, that the hero of Jofa should not be forced to attend a mock trial whose only outcome would be her public execution. The politicians and the bureaucracy were claiming such an attack would only end in failure owing to Mary’s location during her incarceration being no less than Coruscant, Palpatine’s bastion of power. To breach the planetary defences of Coruscant would mean extreme losses, certainly not enough to justify the rescue of  _one_  person.

Josiah Sanchez was of the belief Mary should be rescued, not simply from a military standpoint but from a point of morale. The consequences of Mary’s capture could be evidenced from the sharp drop in worlds joining the Rebellion. Her capture had proved how vulnerable they could all be in the face of the Imperial war machine. To the Council, he argued all these points most empathetically except the one which held most truth for him; he could not allow her, the woman who was like a daughter to him and might have been in another life, die at the hands of the Empire. He had known her all her life and at this moment, she was the heart of rebel pride. Each victory she secured in battle, was one more triumph to a rag tag fleet of ships from worlds suffering under the yoke of tyranny. Josiah did not want to see that precious young woman die. He could not imagine it. He promised her father a long time ago he would protect her and he had, long after the man himself had shed the mortal cloak.

Now they were debating whether or not she should be sacrificed and it was all Josiah could do from screaming out in fury, waving his fists and telling them this was wrong, in every conscionable way. They could not let her be sacrificed for anything. Unfortunately, he was bound by his oath to act as a member of a Council to be at least civil in his manner while debating so emotional a subject. He tried to be the voice of reason among the growing unrest in the military and like the others, Bail Organa in particular, he could see it would only take a match to ignite an already incendiary issue.

"It is madness!" Councillor Feylar of the Bothans declared passionately, his fur twitching on his face.

A roar filled the room that eclipsed all the angry voices who reacted to that statement. The growl came from Tula, a wookie who had been rescued by Mary Travis in the Corporate Sector and now owed a life debt to the rebel leader. Tula, who stood well above any human bared her teeth in fury, voicing her outrage most articulately even it if escaped her in a furious roar. It was a sentiment shared by all those present. Feylar seemed to cringe in his seat as the Wookie rumbled in annoyance at his statement.

"We cannot simply let them have her!" Nathan spoke up, patting the large female’s fur covered russet arm, attempting to calm her lest she did anything to Feylar that would require his limbs being reattached to his body. "She’s our leader! She’s come through for us on more occasions than we can count! Plus, she knows this Alliance intimately! The information she could provide..."

"Has been made useless," Mon Mothma, an elegant human female remarked. Although she was relatively young when she was made a senator, Mon Mothma had shown her mettle by standing firm against the Emperor. While she was at heart a politician, she showed remarkable compassion in these proceedings even if she stood opposed to a rescue mission. "Mary knew the risks, as do all of us. Capture is always a possibility. As soon as we learned of her capture, we moved to minimise the danger by removing all our operatives who might be compromised by Mary’s knowledge. At the moment, there is very little the Empire can garner from Mary that will be a danger to us."

"So we’re going to leave her to dry!" Someone shouted.

"We have no choice!" Feylar cried out. "You are speaking about mounting an assault on Coruscant! We are not prepared for that! It will be years before we can even consider such a move and we would cripple ourselves attempting it!"

"We have to try something!" Buck Wilmington cried out. "Goddamn it! She’s one of us! We can’t let them have her! If Mary can be taken, what does it say for the rest of us?"

"It says that we think with our heads and not our hearts." Bel Iblis, the intelligence commander of the Rebellion answered. "Captain," Iblis said with a sigh. "Mary is more than just one of us, she is my friend as well and I despise the notion of sacrificing her as much as you do, but rescuing her is impossible. She is being held on Coruscant. Even if we manage to produce a fleet capable of engaging the defences around the planet, we would never be able to land. The planetary defence grid will be activated the minute we are detected."

"What about a covert entry?" This came from Rayne. The handmaiden and bodyguard of Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan had taken the opportunity to see Nathan Jackson by acting as Bail’s protector during this conference. Considering the ill feeling presently in the room, Rayne was glad she decided to come and keep watch on the Alderaanian leader. The tension was almost reaching boiling point and she could sense things were fast coming to a head.

"Impossible," Feylar retorted. "The moment any attempt is made to breach the walls of the facility in whichTravis is currently imprisoned, all stations would be alerted to your presence and planetary defences will fall into place. The entire planet will be secured with no ships being allowed to depart and any who attempt to escape would be shot out of the sky."

"What if we disabled the grid?" Casey Wells asked and immediately drew the attention of everyone to the young girl who was now somewhat concerned that voicing her opinion might not have been as wise an idea as she initially thought. Casey’s eyes met Josiah nervously, apologizing with her frightened gaze for speaking out of turn. 

"You are dreaming," Feylar declared glaring at the young woman. "And you are a child. We are talking about one of the most impregnable computer mainframes in the galaxy."

"Councillor," Josiah turned his eyes at Feylar with a look of warning about directing any further condescending remarks at his niece. "Let us hear what she has to say before we dismiss her." Josiah threw a brief glimpse at Casey who was beaming at him at standing up for her.

"I agree," Bail Organa answered coolly. The Alderaanian leader had known enough young women with their mettle in his lifetime to know they should never be brushed aside. "Go on."

"Well," Casey swallowed thickly, glad JD was by her side as she felt the eyes of so many boring into her, waiting for her response. "The planetary defences are safeguarded by computer controls using a sophisticated encryption program. Now the program is formidable and it is capable of fending off any slicer intrusions but it was created using the base configuration for all Imperial codes. I think once we break into this base, it will be a simple matter of worming our way through the rest of the system."

"Have you actually succeeded in doing this?" Feylar asked sceptically.

"Not exactly," Casey answered. "I have been able to break other Imperial codes using this method. I think I will be able to do the same for Coruscant's planetary defences."

"You think?" Feylar gloated scornfully. "Are we to risk lives on your speculation? This becomes more pointless as the discussion continues," Feylar looked to the others present. "I admire and respect Commander Travis as much as any person in this room but I think we must face facts she is lost to us. We cannot rescue her when all we have is blustering military ignorance and half thought speculations from children!"

"Feylar that is enough!" Mon Mothma snapped angrily because the proceedings were already at a crisis point without Feylar’s thoughtlessness making things worse. Unfortunately, it was too late. The floor broke into a loud rumble of protest and anger at the man’s words and Mon Mothma wondered if the Bothans would ever cease to be a source of consternation for the Council. If not for the fact they were the best intelligence gatherers in the galaxy, Mon Mothma would have advocated their removal from the Council since they seemed to relish confrontation. "Please calm down!" She tried vainly to bring order to the room and found herself about to give up in sheer frustration.

It took a few seconds before some semblance of order was brought to bear and for a few awkward seconds, a pause moved through the room as opposing factions considered how they might try to solve the impasse they had reached.

"This is completely unacceptable!" Alexandra Styles cried out, unable to remain silent in the face of what she had just heard a moment ago. "Are you telling me we’re just going to give up on Mary because the Council is too spineless to take a few risks?"

"Alex, it’s not that simple," Josiah argued, appreciating how Alex felt about the matter since she was the closest thing Mary had to family at this time. "The risks are great. I want Mary back too but we have to consider what we want is even possible."

"How can you do that?" Alex stared at him and the member behind the table with challenge. "You haven’t even thought about it! All I hear is how impossible it is! We are aware of how difficult it would be, that was never in doubt but you won’t even try to find a possible solution. You’re so bogged down by statistics and the almighty risk factor that nothing else has been given consideration. Half of you are worried about morale and the other half about how badly we’re going to be down on resources if we fail! Well the only thing we care about is Mary! "

"That’s not fair," Josiah retorted. "You know that is not my view." 

"I know that you are torn Josiah," Alex said softly. "I know you wish to help Mary as much as we do but you’re bound by politics and words and we can’t afford to rely on you to do what’s right."

"Alex," Vin started to speak in Josiah’s defence because the senator’s face was etched in visible sorrow at the statement. However, Alex ignored him because she was far from through with this Alliance Council.

"So this is how it is," Alex stared at the Council, taking a step forward and making certain there would be no mistaking what she was preparing to do. "We will not allow the Empire to execute Mary Travis. We won’t rush blindly into a rescue mission and we will think carefully about how we are going to do it before hand. However, we expect the Council’s full backing on this."

"On whose authority Commander?" Feylar reacted predictably.

"On the authority of every soldier in this Rebellion who will stand with me in this mission." Alex returned, having faced far more terrors in her life to ever be intimidated by someone like Feylar. "If you do not agree to do this, we will carry on without you. We will not stand by and let them slaughter one of our very best without lifting a finger to help her."

"That is mutiny!" Feylar declared as the rest of the room began shouting their approval of Alex’s stance.

"Maybe it is!" Alex shouted back and brought silence to crowd. "But we are the ones out there Councillor. We are the ones whose blood is spilled. We do so because we think we are fighting for the ideals of the Republic and for a future where all of us can live in harmony. We say we are better than the Empire, that what we stand for will pavd a future of peace in the galaxy. We are willing to die for this but if we see this Alliance sacrificing lives for the good of the state then what we fight for is meaningless. We won’t have to fight the Empire, we ought to be joining them because we’ll be no different!"

"Hear hear!" Buck Wilmington shouted in agreement and behind him were even more voices filling the room until there was nothing but a loud roar that that drowned out all other sound. The Council members exchanged anxious glasses, aware their people had spoken and in some ways the words of the Commander had sunk in deeper than it should.

"What do you think will happen?" JD Dunne, who was standing next to Casey and Ezra Standish, asked the newly appointed commander of Mary’s rebel cell.

"I think they have a great deal of thinking too," Ezra shouted back. "They risk the Rebellion splintering over this issue."

"There is a way through Coruscant’s defences!" Casey declared. "I know there is."

"I tend to agree but it would require much more planning than anyone has so far given thought," Ezra responded. "Of that Commander Styles is quite correct. The Council has been so preoccupied by whether or not a rescue mission ought to be launched, they have not considered whether or not it could."

"They seem to think it’s impossible." JD’s voice lowered as the roar began to dissipate.

"It requires a little sleight of hand and a good deal of luck," Ezra responded. He had been thinking about a rescue plan ever since he had time to settle into the seat of Mary’s command. Although he spent the last week establishing the rebel base in Jofa, Ezra had devoted some time to thinking up a possible rescue plan, mostly because it helped keep up his own hopes Mary was not lost to them. His plan had the merit of never being tried as well as being more than a little audacious. He never considered that it would ever see light of day since he was also certain the Rebellion would never agree to it. 

"Alex is stirring up a rancor’s nest," Nathan Jackson declared coming next to his friend.

"It requires stirring my friend," Ezra replied. "She has merely voiced the opinion of most of us and those in the Council who presume to give us the orders ought to know; that there are people under their command who will not follow bad leadership as those in Palpatine’s regime have done. We did not join the Rebellion risking our lives and our families for an institution that is no better that the Empire. The Alliance’s strength has always been its people and without a unified voice willing to fight together and if necessary, die together, there is no point to the exercise."

"I guess so," Nathan nodded, agreeing with Ezra even though he felt uncomfortable about being party to challenging the Council in this manner.

"May I speak?" Someone spoke up with enough clarity to slice through the rumble of voices echoing throughout the room.

Immediately, everyone turned their attention to the mysterious figure whom appeared amongst them and was clearing a path to the Council table. Vin Tanner broke through the crowd, sensing the man's presence a good deal earlier than his declaration and paused when he and the stranger came into eye contact. Everyone watched transfixed as the Jedi apprentice bowed his head in respect at the new arrival. Still hidden by the hood of his cloak, the man continued through the wall of bodies stepping aside for him. Vin fell behind him, remaining just out of reach of the cloak trailing the floor, when the stranger reached the Council members and lowered his hood.

Bail Organa stood up first. "Ben?" 

"General Kenobi." Mon Mothma exclaimed with just as much shock.

The name of Obi Wan Kenobi moved through the crowd like wildfire and those who did not know him were soon filled in by those who did. The man’s reputation alone was enough to command absolute silence in the conference room. Bail Organa seemed inordinately pleased to see the Jedi Master and his pleasure showed in his face. There was an atmosphere of awe throughout the room that seemed to calm the heated emotions generated by the fierce debate a short time ago. Vin found himself wondering why Ben was here although he supposed there would be time to talk to the man about it when he was done with the Council. Inwardly, he was also somewhat grateful Ben was here because Ben could help him deal with an increasingly hostile Chris Larabee.

"Its good to see you again Bail," Ben said with genuine pleasure.

"Likewise General," Bail answered, a little more composed after his initial surprise at seeing his old friend again. "What brings you here?"

Bail’s question was taut and those who did not understand the secret shared between a select few would have wondered at its intensity considering a moment ago Bail had treated the Jedi Master like an old friend. However, Vin knew that Bail’s anxiety had to do with any possible threat to the Skywalker twins. Bail’s beloved daughter, Leia was Anakin Skywalker’s child. At the moment, Darth Vader combed the galaxy searching for a son, with no knowledge he had been father to twins.

"I came because of Mary Travis." Ben said after a moment, surprising the audience who was listening to his every word with charged anticipation. "I was going to offer my assistance in her rescue. I assumed there would be one." He released a disappointed sigh. "I am grieved to see that I was wrong."

"We were weighing the risks," Feylar spoke, taking a somewhat respectful tone that was a far cry from his earlier arrogance.

"The Councillor was of the opinion one woman was not worth the sacrifice." Vin could not resist adding and took a great deal of pleasure in seeing Feylar’s furry ears flatten with embarrassment.

"Truly?" Ben turned a cold eye towards the man. "Perhaps you would not be so quick to make that statement if it were your life that hung in the balance. Had it occurred to you that perhaps the rescue of Mary Travis from Coruscant would show the galaxy you are a force to be reckoned with and that the Emperor is not so powerful that he cannot be defied?"

"No," Josiah admitted, having never met General Kenobi even though he knew the legendary Jedi master by reputation. He could see the changing opinions of the Council members with the man’s presence and was thankful that something had tipped the balance in favour of a rescue. It was more than he had been able to do. "We feared there would be too many risks."

"There was a time when the Jedi was willing to sacrifice one of us who fell to the dark side." Ben said softly. "We could not help him and we should have. We gave up on him and he became lost to us far worse than any one of us has been lost in a thousand years. The result was the destruction of the Jedi and the end of the Old Republic. Do not ever be foolish enough to think that  _one_  person may not be important enough to risk  _everything_. The result may have consequences you might  not be able to live with."

Bail’s eyes grew dark and Vin knew that he understood Ben was referring to Anakin.

"Yes," Bail nodded. "You are right of course Ben. She must be saved."

Vin let out a sigh of relief that was shared with everyone who had fought for Mary’s survival. For the first time in days, he finally had some good news to bring to Chris Larabee.


	3. The Plan

Chris Larabee did not know how long he could endure being trapped to this infernal bed but he knew it would not be for very much longer. His patience had been eroding away steadily during the last week and despite Vin Tanner’s valiant efforts to keep him in place, Chris knew he was fighting a losing battle with his patience. Each moment that passed was another second closer to his worse nightmare unfolding; that Mary Travis would die with their mental connection still intact, giving Chris an excruciating view into the last moments of her life when she was finally executed.

Chris lived in fear of that and its intensity was growing because inside him, he could feel  Mary’s feelings even if they were distant inside his mind. He knew wherever she was, she was terribly afraid and though they could not communicate, he was able to sense something of what was happening to her at this time.

What he did not voice to Vin, what he could not tell anyone because it would only worsen the situation and probably give them reason to keep him under guard out of fear of what he might do; was that he could sense Mary under torture. He could feel her agonies in his mind and it tore at the fabric of him. It was all he could do from leaving his bed in order to go to her rescue but Vin had been right. He was in no position to attempt anything as ambitious as a rescue plan, not in his present condition. If he were to do that, the end result would be his own death and while it was not a consequence that worried him terribly, the fact he would be unable to help Mary because of it, did. Therefore, Chris came to the begrudging realization no matter how difficult it was, he had to endure because in her private hell, she was doing the same.

He had been languishing on board the  _Angel of Mercy_  for the last week, ever since Vin brought him here for treatment. Ezra had been using the ship as his primary mode of transport since being given Mary’s command. Chris was certain part of the reason Ezra used this ship to make the rendezvous on Coruscant was to allow him the chance to remain close to the proceedings deciding Mary’s fate instead of being left behind on Jofa. Chris was grateful to commander’s efforts and also somewhat pleased Ezra had taken his new posting as a means to further protect the people Mary had sacrificed her life for. Command suited Ezra well and the ability Chris always thought him capable was now a beacon of reassurance in the wake of Thrawn’s devastating attack.

If Chris were not feeling such personal anguish, he would have been terribly proud of Ezra.

However for the moment, his thoughts were focussed on a familiar presence in the vicinity. At first Chris could not believe it and thought he might have been mistaken,  there were some things which could not be anything else other than what it was. The presence of his old friend was one of those. He never thought he would see Ben Kenobi again after his last visit to Tatooine because Ben had more or less stated he would remain at the side of Anakin’s child, protecting the boy. It perplexed Chris why Ben had made the trip here but he could not deny it would be good to see the Jedi Master once more. Perhaps, Ben could give him the focus needed to rescue Mary.

At the moment, his emotions were too heated and as much as he feared losing her to the Empire, he also feared failing her when it counted the most.

He sensed both Ben and Vin the moment they returned to the  _Angel of Mercy_. Chris was not concerned about what the outcome would be regarding the decision to save or abandon Mary Travis. It did not concern him because no matter how things were decided, he was still going to save her, with or without the support of the Rebellion. Fortunately, he sensed things had not gone badly and Ben’s presence had changed things significantly. Chris was hardly surprised; General Obi-Wan did not come out of obscurity for any trifling matter.

Inwardly, Chris was grateful to his old friend for coming all this way and lending his voice to the proceedings. Although Chris would have rescued Mary without the Rebellion’s help if the vote had fallen that way, he preferred to have their resources because it would ensure his success. No matter how determined he was to save Mary, he had to acknowledge freeing her would not be easy, not when she was being held at the Fortress, Coruscant's highest security prison. However, Chris also knew Ezra had something of a plan in mind. During the occasions when Ezra could spare some time to visit him, Chris had been able to sense Ezra’s thoughts and the genuine desire to help. The plan; which Chris did not know the specifics of because he refused to delve too deeply in the man's thoughts, seemed to be a work in progress.

Perhaps now a decision was made to save Mary, they would learn what it entailed exactly.  If it came from Ezra, it was bound to be something of a gamble.

Chris did not have long to wait before he felt Ben’s presence approaching the room he was presently occupying. Vin came with him and for the first time in a week, Chris feel something resembling hope. As Ben stepped into the room, Chris noted that he seemed older. Although his beard made him look further along his years than he was, the age was mostly telling in his eyes. Chris supposed Ben had known heartache almost as much as he and that kind of pain left its mark upon the psyche, despite the best attempts of hope to stave it back.

"The Force is with you Chris." Ben greeted

"And with you Ben." Chris returned warmly. "You’re a long way from Tatooine."

"I thought I’d take a little trip," Ben said with a smile. "See what’s happening in the rest of the universe."

"It s a good thing he did," Vin added. "Things were about to get pretty ugly at the Council until he stepped in and spoke up for Mary."

"The bureaucratic mentality never ceases to surprise me," Chris grumbled, aware of what would have been transpiring.

"That’s what Alex said," Vin remarked with a slight smile, realizing he was a novice when it came to the world of politics and after what he was forced to sit through the past few days, he would prefer if it continued to remain a mystery to him.

"They are mostly afraid." Ben said to the younger man. "Afraid of losing more to the Empire then they already have."

"Unfortunately, their fear almost cost them Mary." Chris returned bitterly, having no sympathies for anyone who was prepared to abandon her to the Empire. He supposed his perception was biased for he knew Josiah Sanchez had much difficulty in remaining neutral in this debate since he wanted Mary saved just as much as the rest of the seven.

"The decision has been made however," Ben stated. "Now they are debating on how it is to be done exactly."

"Ezra knows how." Chris responded without thinking twice. "I’ve seen it inside his head. He has been thinking up a plan since he took command."

"You sure?" Vin stared at his master. Ezra’s thoughts were hard for him to discern because the man was always so guarded. Vin had thought that it was a by-product of being such a superb sabaac player but once Vin had become more familiar with the man, he realized it was not the reason at all. Ezra's solitary nature had to do with the personality at the core of him. The man had spent his whole life protecting himself from those who thought less of him. Vin, who knew a little about solitude and the masks one wore, could empathize with Ezra and always respected the privacy of Ezra's thoughts. 

"Ezra is." Chris said confidently even though he did not know what plan Ezra had conjured up secretly inside his mind.

Ben did not comment, instead his eyes met Chris and he brought to light an even bigger difficulty. "We have another problem if we are to attempt to breach Coruscant."

Chris knew precisely what he meant and it was something the Alliance had not considered and it was just as well for it would only panic them further to be faced with this on top of the already difficult task of rescuing Mary from Coruscant. However, as Jedis, there was no escaping it. "Vader."

Vin’s eyes shot up immediately and he stiffened involuntarily as tendrils of fear ran up his spine at the invocation of the Sith Lord’s name. "Vader?"

"He stays close to the Emperor when he isn’t doing Palpatine’s dirty work," Ben spoke with more than a hint of bitterness in his voice. There would be a part of the Jedi Master that would always regret failing his apprentice, especially when he was forced to speak the name of Vader, the name Anakin took for himself when he became Palpatine’s creature. "If we attempt to land on Coruscant, Vader will almost certainly detect us."

"It will complicate any rescue attempt, that’s for certain." Chris agreed with Ben’s grim assessment of the situation.

"Well can’t we get him off planet?" Vin suggested. "I mean the man is absolutely fanatical about finding his son. Can’t we use that? I mean obviously we do not give him any information about where Luke really is but just a hint of something that will send him on a wild goose chase that will allow us the opening we need to get into Coruscant without his detecting us."

"It’s a risk," Ben remarked, unable to deny he was apprehensive about any plan that required Luke being used as bait for his father but he supposed that as a ploy to lure Vader away from Coruscant, it had a good chance of succeeding. Besides, Ben intended to see that any information slipped to Vader would be as far removed from Tatooine as possible. He did not want Vader stumbling blindly into his son’s life by sheer accident.

"But it's worth a try." Chris replied, aware  Ben had an idea of his own on how to keep Vader occupied while they penetrated Coruscant and Chris was unwilling to let the venerated Jedi Master attempt such a dangerous undertaking. As much as it was necessary for Vader to be dealt with, not even for Mary was Chris willing to let Obi-Wan make that kind of sacrifice.

"Well if we leave it to the Council, nothing will ever get down and we don’t have a great deal of time." Chris retorted. He paused a moment, daring to confide in the two men what he did not want to tell anyone else even though he suspected on some level they must have known  it was possible. "They're torturing her."

"Bastards." Vin hissed under his breath while Ben's expression seemed to get darker. "I'm sorry Chris." The apprentice spoke after a moment, unable to imagine what else to say in the face of that revelation. If it were Alex, he would be tearing the ship apart right not out of sheer helplessness. As it was Vin was rather amazed by Chris' restraint. It was more than he thought the Jedi capable in the face of such news. "How bad is it?" He ventured to ask.

"I don't know," Chris responded, his gaze unable to meet theirs because if he did, they would know just how much this was tearing him inside. "I can feel her pain. It screams out at me but I know she's holding firm. I can sense the determination in her not to give in. I know her," he swallowed, feeling his voice fracture as he said the words that seemed so unimaginable escape his lips. "She won't break. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction and they'll damn near kill her trying to get what she knows."

"She'll survive Chris," Ben patted him on the shoulder. "She's a strong woman."

"I know," Chris sighed, crushing all that emotion into a tight ball and burying it somewhere deep inside his mind so that he was able to function and be of some help to her. If he allowed the horror of what was happening to Mary creep into his heart, he would lose all coherence and it was the last thing Mary needed right now. To help her, he had to harden his heart. "I'm just afraid that they'll kill her if they can't break her."

"We've got time," Vin spoke quickly, not wishing to give Chris reason to lose hope. "They need her for their show trial and that's not scheduled to take place for a few days more. They have to keep her alive for that much longer."

Chris absorbed all this, feeling stronger because of Vin’s support and also by Ben’s presence here. He knew what he had to do and brooding about how things had come to this point was not productive. If he wanted to ever know Mary’s touch in his arms again, he would have to stop thinking like her lover and start being the Jedi Knight she had fallen in love with in the first place. He had waited for the Council to make a choice for her life and though they had finally reached the decision he needed them to make, it had only come after Ben Kenobi’s timely intervention. He would wait for them no more on this matter. If Mary were to be saved, then he would have to set the machinery for her freedom in motion himself. He was not fully recovered yet but he was better than he had been and if he meditated and took care, he would be healed enough to be do what was needed.

"Vin," Chris sat up straighter in his bed and faced his friend with a new resolve. "I want you to get everyone together. Bring them here. We need to show the Council  we have a way of breaching Coruscant and retrieving Mary. They won’t make a move unless someone has a suggestion that won’t cost more lives than necessary. So we’re going to need to hear Ezra’s plan before we can bring them something tangible."

"I’m on it," Vin responded and he was smiling. Despite the fact Mary's life still hung in the balance and Chris's emotions were still intensely troubled concerning her fate, the Jedi was pulling himself together. However, it was more than just recovering from her loss and being invigorated by the task to retrieve her but rather the fact he was focussed and in control of himself. This was the Chris Larabee that Vin Tanner knew, the man Vin would follow into hell itself if required. In this case, hell was Coruscant and it seems they were about to storm its gates.

 _What the hell_ , Vin thought to himself.  _You got to die sometime._

* * *

It was the first time in a week that all seven had been together since the attack on the Siraj base.

The fallout from the attack had scattered them in all directions as they all scrambled to be of assistance in the aftermath of the destruction. Vin spent most of his time ensuring that Chris remained at his bedside and not be any more cause of trouble to the already beleaguered medical staff on board the  _Angel of Mercy_. Buck had also remained on the ship, wanting to remain close to Louisa Perkins while she recovered from the injuries sustained during the attack. He and Vin alternated their bedside vigil with running brief errands for the establishment of the new undersea base in Jofa.

Meanwhile Josiah was spending most of his time communicating with the Jofan tribes he had managed to contact. Although the Jofans agreed to allow the rebels the use of their platforms and eventually one of their damaged oceanic pavilions, they were still somewhat cautious of the new arrivals . Considering their previous experiences, it was to be expected. Josiah continued to act as liaison, aiding both parties through the difficult process of learning to trust one another.

JD Dunne was just as busy but his involvement was acting mostly as pilot. In the past week, JD estimated he had acquired a great deal more flying experience then he had in a months, ferrying supplies back and forth, transporting personnel and ships to the platform that would be their temporary base before the pavilions were repaired and ready for use. Through all the chaos created in the wake of Mary’s loss and Thrawn’s attack, the one stabilizing factor that brought some semblance of order to the proceedings was Ezra Standish. With Nathan Jackson at his side, Ezra showed everyone he was more than just a dilettante commander of some forgotten outpost.

Now they were all gathered here, their best hope for rescuing Mary fell once again at Ezra’s feet though at the moment he was unaware of this fact. Among the gathering of seven were a few other faces, who were as trusted as the fellowship and considered friends. Alexandra Styles, Inez Recillos, Casey Wells, Rayne, the Wookie Tula and not to mention, Ben Kenobi. As Chris saw them all before him, he knew however this plan went, those in the room would play the greatest part in its undertaking.

"What’s up Chris?" Buck inquired, pleased to see his old friend in better shape than he was a week ago.

Although Chris had made his apologies to Buck about his behaviour when Buck tried to stop Chris from leaving his sick bed, the Jedi Knight still felt ashamed of himself. Buck had taken his apologies as he always did, with a shrug and so much understanding Chris often wondered why Buck was not Jedi. He certainly had more empathy than most beings Chris had come across in his travels. "I hear the Council has relented to allowing an escape plan to be mounted."

"Yes," Alex said sourly. "After things almost reached breaking point." She tried not to look at Josiah as she said that but could feel the senator stiffening uncomfortably.

"Chris you know the Council has to be ruthless to be effective sometimes," Josiah spoke up for himself and his fellow Councillors. "I want Mary back as much as you do."

"Of course you do," Alex responded. "I’m sorry Josiah, I didn’t mean to infer that you didn’t." She offered him a look of apology at her rash words, an action for which Vin rewarded her by affectionately encircling her shoulder with his arm.

"I know," Josiah replied, appreciating all to well the heated emotions going through everyone at this time. "I don’t feel any different."

"The reason I brought you all here," Chris announced after the duo had come to their mutual understanding, "is because Ezra has a plan to get Mary out."

All eyes turned to the startled commander of the Jofan rebel cell and for a minute Ezra seemed genuinely off balanced, something he was not accustomed to being. It took him merely a second to compose himself again but in Ezra time, it was an eternity. Staring at Chris, the commander sucked in his breath before speaking. "I hate mind readers."

"I didn’t mind read," Chris said with a little smile. "I just got the impression you had a plan in your head that might just work."

"Do you?" Nathan stared at his best friend. "Do you have an idea on how we could get to her?"

Ezra shrugged uncomfortably because he had been merely composing the scheme inside his head the way one would toy with a pet theory. However, this was not some pleasurable past time, this was danger on a scale difficult to measure and the lives that would be lost if he were wrong, would belong to his closet friends. He would have balked at the suggestion of allowing anyone to hear his plan, if not for the tiny, middling belief he could make it work. 

"I have an idea," he glared a little at Chris for forcing to bring this theory of his into the open, "of how we could breach Coruscant’s aerial defences."

"How?" Buck asked, perfectly aware of how many ships they were taking about here. This included a phalanx of star destroyers, not to mention Vader’s own ship, the  _Executor_. There were air borne batteries that would shoot down any ship attempting to invade Coruscant’s air space if they manage the miracle of getting past the destroyers. 

Ezra swallowed hard and told them.

"By the Force!" Alex exclaimed.

"You’re insane!" Nathan found himself saying because the whole idea was beyond lunacy.

"But it could work." Buck replied, grinning. "Damn it Nathan it could work!" The pilot cried out enthusiastically while the rest of Ezra’s audience were still reeling from the possibilities.

"I think your friend is right," Ben Kenobi added staring at Ezra with a little smile of confidence because he was the strongest Jedi in the room and he could sense the anxiety coming from the man better than even Chris or Vin.

"About Ezra being insane or that it could work?" Vin asked with a completely straight face.

"Both." Ben chuckled. "It will require Alliance's co-operation." Ben glanced at Josiah in particular, attempting to gauge what the Council might think of Ezra’s plan from Josiah’s reaction to it.

"It is risky," Josiah drawled in response a moment later. "However, it also has the merit of never being tried before. The Council might go for it but its going to take a lot of execution and resources."

"Not necessarily," Alex spoke up. "Sluis Van is one of our supporters. I’m sure they could spare a few old cruisers. Remember, these ships only need to be space worthy enough to get to Coruscant by hyperspace."

"That doesn’t explain how we’re going to get to the surface." Nathan pointed out. As much confidence as he had in Ezra, his suggestion reeked of insanity. Nathan was not even sure Mary would even consider such a thing if their roles were reversed. "Ezra’s idea will keep them distracted but not enough for us to pass the planetary defences undetected."

"I can do that!" Casey spoke up exuberantly. "I know I can. I just need to work on it."

"Casey you need to be very sure," Chris gave the girl a look, knowing she truly believed what she said but even belief could not alter a fact if it were untrue. "Us getting to Mary alive depends on it."

"I would not suggest it if I wasn’t sure Chris," Casey responded and shifted her gaze at Josiah. "Honest Uncle Josiah," she implored him to support her in this.

"If Casey says she can manage this," Josiah finally answered a few minutes, "I believe her."

"Okay," Chris smiled at her, showing Casey his faith in her. "However, we should make an attempt to lower the grid momentarily before the actual rescue attempt to see if it was possible. We don’t want to get everyone in place and find out that it doesn’t work."

"Absolutely not!" Josiah’s reaction was almost immediate. Agreeing to Casey’s ability was one thing but allowing her to go Coruscant was something else entirely.

"Uncle Josiah!" Casey cried out in exasperation. "I have to go to Coruscant to lower the defence grid, it can’t be done any other way!"

"No," Josiah was already shaking her head. "You have no idea how dangerous this is."

"Casey I gotta agree with Josiah on this," JD spoke up, taking unexpected sides with Josiah on this matter. He cared about Casey a great deal and had no wish to see her in such a dangerous place where she would be beyond help if captured.

"I know the both of you care," Casey said firmly as she looked hard at both JD and Josiah with a voice not quite her own as she stated her case before them. "I do know the risks and I’m willing to take them. I’m not a child any more and you can’t keep protecting me. I am a member of the Rebel Alliance and in becoming a member I have to deal with dangers the same as everyone else."

"Casey…." JD started to protest.

"JD she’s right," Josiah found himself saying and hoped he was not making a terrible mistake. "She’s not a child any more and I most of all, have to let her go. Alright Casey, I appreciate you have to go to Coruscant but it may not be possible to smuggle you through Imperial checkpoints." He met his niece’s eyes so she would see that his statement was not borne out of some attempt to protect her but rather genuine knowledge of the facts.

"I can get her though," Alex stated firmly. "I have the freedom to move about Coruscant without suspicion."

"Even now?" Vin looked at her with concern. "With Mary on Coruscant, they would have tightened up security."

"They would," Alex nodded in agreement. "But I have clearances that will get us past all that. Not enough to breach the facility where Mary is held but enough to let us move around the city without drawing attention."

"You will need assistance," Rayne responded. "I also have a certain amount of immunity playing the part of Senator Organa’s bodyguard. If something were to go wrong, then we will need an alternate means of escape. I have diplomatic clearance as member of House Organa. Even Imperial troops will be reluctant to search my ship if I attempted to leave Coruscant."

"Rayne are you sure about this?" Nathan asked, not liking the idea of Rayne risking her life but then he supposed they all were and she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

"Mary Travis saved the Princess when we were in trouble Nathan Jackson," Rayne returned smoothly. "I will repay that debt."

Tula let out a string of low pitched growls, the Wookie equivalent of language. Josiah listened to her carefully before turning his gaze to Alex. "It looks like you might have another passenger."

"That would work," Alex agreed with it readily enough. If they were to get into trouble, a Wookie was a formidable ally to have. "Unfortunately, Wookies are now considered slave material. We would have to produce false papers but it can be managed. Besides," Alex gave Tula a grateful nod. "I know Tula feels she has a life debt to pay to Mary for saving her and her people from Black Sun."

"Which leaves us," Chris stated.

"Any ideas on how we are getting in?" Vin inquired. It was one thing for Alex and Rayne to slip Casey into Coruscant. Casey was not as marked for capture as they were. There was no way they could remain at large on Coruscant for any period of time. No doubt, the Empire would be expecting them to make an attempt at rescue and the local authorities would no doubt know their faces.

"I have no idea." Chris responded unhappily but added with determination in his voice. "For the moment."

He did not intend for the answer to remain elusive for too long. For Mary's sake, he would not let it.


	4. Jofa

_Water._

_She could hear its trickling sound gaining momentum around her and wondered for a second where she was and how she had come to be here. Her memory on this point was rather foggy and as she searched for some recollection beyond the moment, she was rewarded with images surfacing in her mind in brief flashes. Images of her life filled her, dark times and good ones intermingling in the paradoxical blend that was her existence. She saw her son and she saw the husband she conceived him with, die. She watched new friends replacing the old, and she saw death on an immeasurable scale  and the life of her child in her arms. They swirled in on her with such speed and intensity, for a second everything else was driven from her mind as she struggled to put form to all the images she was seeing. However, the ability to do so eluded her and soon they drained away into oblivion like the water she could hear behind her._

_Mary Travis blinked and found herself standing on the floor of a courtyard. She looked around and knew immediately where she was. Her heart started pounding as the familiar surroundings of the Central Pavilion began to take shape. Mary felt sweat starting to glisten on her skin as her frightened eyes swept across the place. It appeared as it had years ago, when Jofan society was at the height of its civilization. She remembered how beautiful it had been before the Massacre, a shining example of coexistence and galactic unity. Knowing she had been party to its destruction changed her whole life. After that, she had joined the Rebel Alliance and despite all the good she tried to accomplish, despite all the lives she attempted to save, none of that had been able to wash from her hands the blood  spilled at Jofa._

_She looked around and saw that she was alone in the city._

_There was no one else about which further increased her panic. She did not want to be here! However, there was little time to ponder the situation because froth and bubbles began swirling around her legs, covering the floor within seconds of the first drop touching the paved floor of the courtyard. Her terrified mind tried to tell herself that this could not possibly be real because when the Empire destroyed the Central Pavilion of Jofa, she was recovering from her injuries on Coruscant. However, if this was real, where then were all the Jofans? Why was she alone? The notion she might drown alone in this doomed city seized her and Mary started running, trying to escape the flood._

_The water was soon past her waist as she waded through the doomed city, its icy temperature sending chills up her spine She saw the ocean seeping into open shop fronts, causing various articles of furniture and other items to join  the growing flotilla drifting into the waterlogged streets. She wanted to cry out but there was no one to hear her. She was completely alone. A feeling of intense terror gripped her heart and she thought she might start screaming any minute. She had been like this once before and even now, years after the events she knew she woke up screaming from the nightmares of that memory. Above her head, water was pouring down in a thick, frothing column. Its roar filled her ears and drowning out all other sounds._

_Mary waded through the rising water, pushing aside the unfamiliar items like food wrappers, pieces of broken plastic, debris from destroyed buildings and other objects floating past him. She saw a woman's purse among the refuse, a child's toy, a man's shoe and someone's helmet. She studied them for a moment and then realized they were native to Jofa. Evidence of the people who were once inhabitants of the domed city  now gone forever._

_"WHERE AM I?" She screamed, her panic reaching breaking point. Her voice crumbled into loud sobs of fear as she struggled to move against the rising tide of water. There was no answer. Why should there be?_

_There was no one left in the city to hear._

_Almost in response to this understanding, the bodies began to surface._

_The first one drifted past her casually, oblivious to the growing horror its appearance  caused the rebel commander. The corpse, which Mary discerned to be human, was bloated and bloody. The woman who once lived in this shell was gone but on her cold skin were the telltale signs of her departure. Her eyes were bloody sockets of ruptured flesh. Mary could see bubbles under her skin where the ocean depths had caused her veins and arteries to explode. She turned away from the body sickened, feeling her stomach hollow. However, she could not escape the grisly scene that easily. There were other bodies rising from beneath the depths, bobbing gruesomely on the surface of the water, their dead faces staring at her almost in accusation, holding her responsible._

_Mary forced herself to look beyond them before she lost her reason completely. Where was Chris? Why wasn't he here? He should be her! He would know what to do! He would make these terrible images go away!_

_"WHY AREN'T YOU HERE?" She screamed to no one in particular and her voice echoed through the empty city despite the roar of the ocean pouring through the dome._

_Then she remembered. He could not be here because she had shot him._

_She sobbed out loud and resolved herself to dying here alone. Mary gazed up at the sky, tears intermingling with salt water on her face and saw the skyline of tall buildings. She saw the reason for the rising deluge beyond the large hole gapping, through the shattered dome. Just beneath the glass, gliding through the skyscrapers with ease, was the obvious cause of the breach, an Imperial TIE fighter. It flew past the buildings, preparing to begin a classic strafing run. The TIE swooped down over her head before, releasing a volley of energy bolts striking a white building directly in front of him._

_The plasma obliterated the side of the coral structure, raining debris all over the floor. Mary shrank back to avoid being hit by flying bits of shrapnel. She could hear screaming and feel blind terror attacking her in a hundred places. She wondered how this could be when the people were already dead but when she looked down, the bodies were gone, just the water rising up around her. The fear gripped her heart with a cold hand. People who were dead only moments ago began to appear and suddenly, Mary found herself trapped in the same nightmare the people of Jofa had found themselves on the day of the Massacre. They were crying at her because she was partially responsible for their suffering. She wasan Imperial when this was done to them. She had defended the Empire against insurrectionists who were freedom fighters. She  fought in the cause of tyranny and had forever branded herself with their evil._

_The hero of Jofa._

_Mary fled from them; it was all she could do to avoid the scene of death she was being confronted with at every turn. She saw them fall, she saw them drown. She saw them scream as gallons of seawater consumed them with little warning. Men, women and children, it did not matter what species they were, all died the same way, gasping for breath as the water pressure crushed them when the drowning did not. The water began to rise faster as the TIE continued its relentless attack on the city. More holes appeared in the dome and the invading water poured through with more rage. Mary was soon treading water, barely keeping afloat from all the water coming through. When she rested her legs and allowed herself to sink a little, she saw the ocean beneath her to be full of dead bodies. Their corpses covered the ground until she could not tell where they ended and where the floor began._

_Mary closed his eyes and tried to block out the image but she could not. Their deaths demanded justice and she had served the instrument of their destruction. Mary awoke in that medical center on Coruscant screaming, aware she dreamed their deaths because the force of so much terror and fear could not be silenced for too long. Her guilt had drawn their terror to her  and she was now forced to live with the knowledge of her accountability, doomed to spend her life righting that terrible mistake. Their deaths clawed at her. They tugged at her guilty soul and in their final moments of existence, she imagined they begged for mercy. They begged to be saved, they begged to be helped and no one had heard or cared. Mary swore that day she would do that. She would always care_

_She cared so much even now she felt each life die, felt each person at the moment of their greatest fear and anguish and she knew for as long as she lived, she would never forget any of them. Mary tried to swim away from the bodies and escape the echoes of their dying spirit but the water had overtaken her ability to stay afloat. She tasted the seawater in her mouth, felt the pressure building in her ears and her eyes stinging from its salty content. Mary looked up and could no longer see the city skyline or the TIE fighter that had wrought all this destruction._

_Instead, she felt a hard bump on her head and felt her body pressed up against something smooth and hard. Her cheek was forced against the cold surface and through the corner of her eye, she could see the ocean beyond the barrier. Mary was trapped against the dome, like an insect on a screen. Panic gripped him with unbelievable intensity. She slammed her fist against the glass and opened his mouth to scream but no sound could escape her because water rushed down her throat. She gagged and tried to cough but the water filled her lungs and stole that from her too. Mary began to pound against the glass desperately as she felt her mind becoming overwhelmed with horror. She could feel floating bodies bumping against her and dared not turn to look, but one of them drifted straight into her and Mary could do nothing but turn to shove it away._

_It was Billy._

_Mary's eyes widened as she saw her son floating before her, his eyes were open staring at her lifelessly and his cherubic face was almost blue. His hair floated lightly above his head and his body outstretched as if waiting for her to embrace him._

_Not Billy! Not Billy._

_Mary started to scream and she did not stop._

* * *

"The drugs seemed to be working," Julia Pemberton remarked as she stood next to Vader and watched Mary Travis screaming hysterically within the interrogation cubicle.

"Not well enough," the dark lord responded with sigh resonating through the mask he wore. "We may have to increase the dosage."

Ever since Mary was brought to Coruscant, Vader had took charge of her interrogation personally. The request had come from the Emperor himself because as coldly efficient as Thrawn was about acquiring the rebel leader, the man had a streak of nobility in him that made him a poor interrogator. The Emperor also suspected Thrawn had a latent admiration for the rebel leader that could compromise the interrogation process. Personally, Vader did not think anything could get in the way of Thrawn's goals if the man set his mind to it, least of all overt sentimentality. It was highly unlikely Thrawn would allow any emotion for Mary Travis get in the way of what he wanted however, the Emperor had made his decision and Vader was not about to question his master's bidding.

"I thought the mind probe was always effective in these cases," Julia stared at Mary, watching the woman screaming at the terrors placed inside her mind thanks to drugs administered by the device.

Vader did not answer immediately as he watched Mary suffering before him. He sensed her thoughts when she was first been presented to the Emperor and knew what she was to Chris Larabee. He supposed he could use that to his advantage but at the moment the Emperor was more concerned with the Rebel Alliance than Anakin Skywalker's child. Mary was possibly the most decorated commander in the Alliance and her capture would only be a severe blow to the momvement but also a source of information to the Empire. The Emperor wanted very iota of useful knowledge extracted from her before she stood trial for crimes of sedition. Unfortunately, that directive was not without it problems. A show trial would required Mary to be in relatively good health. This limited the instruments of torture that could be used in gaining what they needed from her.

Of course the Empire had methods of engendering pain that did not leave any bruises behind and a great number of them had been employed on Mary since her arrival on Coruscant. Physical pain seemed to intensify her determination to resist and after days of excruciating agony, Imperial interrogators were forced to admit the breaking of Mary Travis required more skilful hands than they were capable. It was at this point that Palpatine took a direct interest and assigned Vader to the task. At the time he was given the order, Julia Pemberton had been delivering her report on Ezra Standish. Vader had to confess he felt some measure of satisfaction he had been correct in questioning Ezra's loyalties. However, the substance of Julia's report indicated while they might have solved one problem in the capture of Mary Travis, it appeared they might have another in Ezra Standish.

"Resistance to the probe’s effects is not impossible," Vader answered Julia’s query after a pause. "The mind involved in these rare cases is unusually strong as the leader of any resistance movement is liable to be. Do not allow the complacency of imprisonment to mislead you in how dangerous she is. Within these walls she is quite helpless but beyond it, she has caused the deaths of  _thousands_  of Imperial troops."

Julia studied Mary Travis once more, finding her unimpressive when she was screaming at her torture to stop but supposed Vader was probably right. This was the woman with whom Ezra Standish had allied himself. To Julia, she did not appear to be anything extraordinary and the Emperor’s agent could not understand how her capture could be such a blow to morale of the Rebel Alliance. Julia supposed her ambivalence to Mary’s abilities had to do with a little kernel of jealousy that Ezra had been willing to become a traitor in order to help this woman and her rebel friends. It still stung Ezra had managed to elude her at what should have been her greatest moment of triumph, after keeping him under observation so closely the last few months.

Vader had not rebuked her for letting him escape but she sensed his disapproval and felt herself simmer in hatred from the traitor.

"I think we should return to more brutal methods." Julia suggested. "We need to provoke a response soon. When the trial begins, we will be placed under too deep scrutiny to work effectively."

"I agree," Vader nodded. "However, I do not believe  brutality will provide us the effect we desire. If anything it will only make her more stubborn. You must learn to deal with heroes, they are easily manipulated but extremely stubborn."

"Yes Lord Vader," Julia responded, thinking to herself that Mary Travis was no hero. She was a rebel terrorist and ought to be treated accordingly. Anyone who dared to challenge the Empire deserved a terrible death indeed.

"I sense you are bored with this particular assignment," Vader rumbled next to her and Julia turned to the Dark Lord, swallowing thickly because his statement was not far from the truth.

"I am not bored with any task that places me in the service of the Emperor," Julia answered smoothly, wondering how long Vader had been reading her thoughts. She was not offended. She could not be. Being one of the Emperor’s hands required her mind to be open to the probings of those who were Force adept. However, she did wish she had warning he was studying her that closely because she would have made some effort to be more guarded in her thoughts. "I was merely eager to get back to the task of hunting down Ezra Standish."

"You would find that rather difficult to manage," Vader returned smoothly. "Standish is most likely with the Alliance by now and at the moment, I require you here."

Julia stiffened slightly but it was enough for Vader to notice, if her emotions did not tell him most of what he already suspected was on her mind. "You disagree Lieutenant?" 

"Of course not Lord Vader," Julia swallowed, feeling tendrils of anxiety at being caught out again. Her nervousness made her careless and left an opening in her mind as wide as the Maw that Vader could use to read her easily. "I just wondered what use I could be when you seemed to be more adept at interrogation than I."

"The Emperor suspects the Alliance will make a move to retrieve Commander Travis," Vader responded without hesitation.

Julia saw Mary's reflection on the polished surface of his black helmet and immediately turned to the lady herself. Mary was oblivious to their conversation as she was gripped in the illusions bombarding her mind thanks to the drugs introduced into her system. The drugs would find her fears and use it against the rebel commander and reach the end physical torture could not. Her own psyche would be her greatest enemy. It was torture at its most elegant.

"You think they would attack Coruscant?" Julia stared at Vader, not at all bothering to mask her incredulity.

"The Emperor suspects they might," Vader answered but he did not seem entirely sure because it was difficult to tell for certain. The man was imperceptible as the armour he wore around his body.

"They would be mad!" Julia exclaimed, almost laughing at the absurdity. "Coruscant is the most heavily guarded planet in thes galaxy! They do not have the expertise or the arsenal to penetrate the home fleet let alone penetrate the defences of the planetary grid!"

"I would agree," Vader said coolly. "However, great storms often announce themselves with the coming of a breeze." He pointed out, tilting his helmet slightly as he glanced at her. "The Emperor wants nothing to interfere with the trial of this prisoner. She is to be our greatest triumph over the Rebel Alliance and a warning to the world who might think twice about obeying Imperial law."

"I see," Julia nodded, accepting her situation since there was no way around it. "I would like to submit my request however, that when this trial is done I am allowed to resume my search for Ezra Standish."

"Request is granted," he answered. "Grand Admiral Thrawn may have think he has netted himself the Alliance's greatest commander but I know for a fact that he has not. I have seen Ezra Standish's destiny and the Force tells me he needs to be dealt with quickly."

"My Lord," Julia found herself speaking out of turn and hoped she did not regret her impertinence. "I  served under him. He is crafty but he does not strike me as one who could cause us a great deal of trouble. I have perused his records, he spent most of his career in less than stellar assignments. The general consensus of most of his previous superior officers seem to indicate he prefers to indulge in sabaac games rather than pay any real attention to his military career."

"That may be so," Vader declared and suddenly his voice lowered into a hiss that made Julia's skin crawl. "However, when I was in his presence I had a sense of him, a sense of what he could do. I should have had him killed them but the future is always clouded by emotions and so it was difficult to interpret what I sensed of him."

By now Julia's curiosity was well and truly piqued. "What did you sense my Lord?"

Vader did not respond for a few seconds and Julia wondered if he was debating whether or not to take her into his confidence. If he did bestow her with his inner thoughts, Julia swore ]she would never betray the honour.

Finally Vader responded and his words escaped him like toxic gas poisoning fresh air, "I sensed he would make Coruscant's sky burn."

* * *

Why couldn't they just kill her?

This was a question Mary Travis asked over and over again as she lay sobbing on the bunk within her cell. Her whole body shuddering from the pain her torture left inside her mind. She closed her eyes and wept, hoping the darkness would end the agony of what she had seen but it did not. Her mind was the enemy here. The drugs administered to her by the mind probe worked exceedingly well. The noxious substance wormed its way through her veins, moving through her body, searching for the weakness it could exploit for its own ends. It found that weakness in the depths of her mind, in the hidden corner of herself where she hid all guilt and regret from a life full of choices, some good and some bad.

The tortures to her body were excruciating and there was a time when Mary actually feared it would escalate into a physical violation but it appeared there were even some things the Empire would not stoop to. Besides, why need was there for rape when the mind probe could implant something as equally terrifying in one's psyche? So far she managed to resist the horrifying images conjured up from the deepest, darkest corners of her fears. She thought she could withstand the horror filled visions but knew she had only managed because she could still feel Chris inside her soul.

His essence was weak but he was there and in being there, she circled her heart around him and clung on tight, using him to give her strength when the nightmares came to plague her when the interrogation sessions began once more. However, it was becoming harder and harder to keep him close because the nightmares tore at her, pulling her away from him until she could feel herself fighting to remain with him. She tried to deny he was starting to feel farther and farther away and that she was becoming so very tired of trying to hold on. Mary just knew if she let him go, that if she could not feel even the slightest part of him in her heart, she would crumble and they would have everything they wanted from her.

When she had seen Billy in her nightmares, in the one place she could not bear to find herself again, she felt the link between them starting to dissolve permanently. At that moment, she started to feel Chris disappear and that feeling keeping her strong for so many days was weaking. She knew they were plying her with more and more drugs and the further into a state of near catatonic delirium they could send her, the less and less she would feel him. Jofa was the one place she could not fight, the one memory that seared into her consciousness and changed her life forever. It was a change borne of a great deal of sorrow and shame, an act for which she would never feel truly cleansed.

The drugs knew what to use against her now and Mary suspected they would use it as often as they could, now they knew it was the weakness they had been searching for. Mary knew nothing inside of her could stand up to that memory. Except Chris. Chris was the impetus for her healing, just as she had been for him. Together, they soothed each others wound and made each other a whole person. In the universe where billions of beings wandered all their lives alone, searching for something intangible, she found Chris and gave each other's existence substance.

Somehow she to hang onto him because if she did not; it was over.

She would be over.


	5. Rescue Plan

Ezra’s suggestion raised eyebrows to say the least.

The Council was silent for a few seconds after Ezra Standish outlined his plan for penetrating the formidable defences at Coruscant. Unlike the last time the Council members gathered, on this occasion the proceedings were open only to those who would be actively taking part in the operation of rescuing Mary Travis. It was a sizeable gathering with all of the seven present as well as Mary's friends. Unlike the earlier meeting, this time Josiah Sanchez found himself on the other side of the Council table because in the privacy of the closed proceedings, he could finally shed his veneer of neutrality and make known his personal feelings on the matter. Josiah wanted Mary back just as badly as the others and finally he had the liberty to say so.

It was a formidable group that awaited the Council’s decision regarding Ezra's proposal once it was outlined. What ever the decision reached by the Council, each and every one of them were resolved to undertake the mission even if they did not gain its support no matter what complications that would engender. Although it seemed the arrival of Ben Kenobi might have shifted the balance in their favour, every one was still ill at ease until they heard for themselves, the Council's decision. Fortunately, Bail Organa’s reaction to Ben's arrival would influence the others to vote in accordance with his wishes. Naturally, Councillor Feylar would be the one voice against but that was more or less expected.

However, Ezra’s plan did involve a number of risks, first and foremost to those taking part in it and the scale of the operation proposed invited careful consideration despite emotions involved. Still Ezra could not believe there would be anyone in the Rebel Alliance who would not risk themselves to rescue Mary if given the opportunity and so he rolled the dice on his gambit, hoping it would pass its first hurdle to success. He did so hope they were given Council endorsement because they needed the support of the Alliance and despite their determination to continue without it, Ezra could not be as certain they would succeed in rescuing Mary.

"You are insane." Feylar exclaimed, his whiskers twitching in what almost appeared to be indignant outrage. "You surely do not expect the Council to agree to this?" The Bothan glared at him; ears pinned back as he made that demand of Ezra.

"There are risks of course," Ezra agreed with Feylar's anxiety on the subject but he was more than prepared to have his scheme questioned since he had already done so himself. Feylar's arguments were no different than any Ezra debated privately when concocting this entire scheme. "However, I think we are capable of managing this successfully with the right amount of coordination. This rescue hinges on providing the distraction needed to confront the Imperial fleet and what I propose would give us a fighting chance of defending itself at Coruscant."

"Are there enough resources at Sluis Van for this?" Mon Mothma looked to Bel Iblis who was keeper of such statistical information. Ezra could see in her eyes that she was frightened of the consequences if the fleet could not hold its own against the Empire but at the same time, wanted badly to latch onto any plan that might see Mary's return to them.

The Corellian general stared at Ezra, wearing the expression of someone who was more than used to gambling himself and had the impenetrable mask to do it well. He seemed to be studying Ezra, as if discovering some fascinating specimen that suddenly revealed itself to be more interesting than previously imagined. Until now, Bel Iblis had not thought much of the new commander of the Jofan rebel cell but the last few minutes had changed that perception radically and the military giant was seeing Ezra as an entirely different creature.

"Yes," he responded after a brief pause. "I think there is more than adequate resources, particularly in view of what Commander Standish would need."

"It is barbaric!" Feylar snapped vehemently, trying to draw others to his point of view by using a humanitarian point of debate. He stared at Iblis as if the general had suddenly gone mad for supporting this insane plan "We would be no better than the Empire."

"With all due respect Councillor," Ezra retorted disliking the comparison intensely, however there were a few home truths he would make known to this overbearing Bothan. "We are talking about a regime that has no difficulty murdering civilians in order to achieve its goals. Yes, we represent the ideals of the Old Republic but we are also at war and in war, people die. We cannot escape that and if we attempt to fight our battles according to some high minded morality that our enemies are not limited to; this Rebellion will never survive a long term conflict. As unpalatable as that might seem to some of us in this room, this is the reality of a guerrilla war. To fight the Empire we must be prepared to soil our hands.

All we can do to remain true to ourselves as best as conscience and the rules of warfare will allow us, is how we regard each other. Mary Travis cannot be sacrificed and we must be prepared to spill blood to protect our own. How can we expect to gather support from the rest of the galaxy if we won't risk anything to protect those who stand with us? All we will accomplish if we let Mary stand trial is show the Empire we do not have the stomach for what must be done. If that is the case, then we have no business attempting overthrow the Empire. We breed false hope in those who depend on us to stand up for them because it is they who will ultimately pay for our weaknesses."

"You talk of spilling innocent blood!" Feylar spat at him with undisguised contempt.

"I speak of the reality of our situation," Ezra returned sharply. He held his head high and proud as he spoke the truth they needed to hear, not simply for Mary but because it was a truth a bunch of politicians shrouded for too long within the rules of diplomacy needed to hear. "Innocent blood  _will_  be spilled. You created an alliance against the most ruthless military regime this galaxy has seen in the last five thousand years! You cannot fight that with speeches and idealistic principles. You need to fight it with force that is tempered with heart. You sacrifice Mary and others like her and you will lose the heart of this Alliance and then Councillor Feylar would be right, we  _would_  be no better than the Empire."

The commander of the Jofan base looked over his shoulder and saw his friends staring at him in something akin to awe. Ezra swallowed, never realising he could reach people on such a level and felt a little odd when he realised they were mesmerized by what he had said. Ezra saw no great feat in what he had just done, other than to voice truths none of the Councillors were prepared to face. However, he did not expect his friends to look at him with admiration for speaking so eloquently for them and for Mary.

Nathan was grinning that damnable smile he got whenever Ezra rose to the occasion. Nathan had spent much of his adult life doing that for Ezra since Ezra himself never took any stock in his own abilities. Inez too was looking at him. Her eyes filled with so much warmth and wonder that for a moment, it felt as if his heart would stop in his chest. He wished it was just the two of them in this room so he could tell her just how much he cared.

However, it was Chris Larabee that surprised Ezra most.

Chris was nodded at Ezra in approval, grateful the commander made his case so eloquently, acknowledging his complete faith in Ezra to speak for him and in her absence, speak for Mary. Ezra knew the Jedi had been reluctant to take a stand in the matter mostly because his personal feelings might become a liability. He also had no wish for the Council to fall under the impression he was willing to risk anyone in order to regain his lover. Fortunately, Ezra's speech had succeeded in convincing the Council; Chris could see it in the eyes of all those behind the table, excepting Feylar of course but there were enough hearts touched by the commander's words to make a difference.

Silently, Chris made a note to tell Ezra how much he was keeping Mary's spirit alive among them as well as providing leadership and hope not only to his friends, but also to all the rebels of Jofa, especially when things were so grim. Chris wondered if Ezra was finally overcoming his insecurities to recognize the potential he had within him once he stopped doubting himself. There was something great inside Ezra Standish that had awaited all his life for expression and now it appeared its time had come.

Feylar opened his mouth to speak but it was Bail Organa's voice that spoke instead of the Bothan's. His expression was grim and resigned, however Chris sensed he was convinced when Ben appeared before him and it had taken Ezra's speech to verbalise his decision. He appeared weary as all men weighted with responsibility often were, but Chris could tell by the shadows in his eyes he understood what Ezra had been trying to say all too well. The Jedi were more than familiar with the personal triumphs and sorrows of Bail Organa and he sat at the Council's head at great personal cost.

"You are right Commander," Bail spoke in his soft and sympathetic voice. "We cannot sacrifice our hearts if we wish to keep the body of what we are healthy. You are all willing to risk your lives for Mary Travis and there are others who are just as willing to commit themselves to your cause. We will not force anyone to join your operation who is unwilling but I doubt you will have any lack of volunteers. We have to better than the Empire," Bail met his gaze. "But we also have to be prepared to fight fire with fire. You have my endorsement to go ahead with your plan," he said finally. "I hope my fellow Councillors will stand by my decision."

He gazed long and hard at them and Chris could see them capitulate by the haunted request in his eyes. Bail Organa was a man to be respected. Of all of them, he walked on the periphery of disaster, playing leader of the Rebel Alliance while at the same time, pretending to be a member of Palpatine's Imperial Senate. And there was also the little matter of the fact Bail was guardian and surrogate father of one of the galaxy's greatest secrets; the daughter Anakin Skywalker did not know he had. Princess Leia would grow up in the anonymity of the name provided to her by Bail Organa, having no reason to suspect she was ever the child of Darth Vader. From her, a new Jedi Order would come and the future would be decided.

Mon Mothma seemed uncertain but she voted with Bail as anticipated. Bel Iblis did not appear doubtful since his agreement was laced with strong approval after hearing Ezra's plan, which he thought to be daring with a stroke of genius, despite the danger, involved. Feylar voted against to but was outnumbered by the rest of the table and spent the last few minutes of the meeting sulking at the outcome. Although the Council did not hide its anxiety at the success of the plan or the casualties it was likely to incur in the process, they offered Ezra their support and wished them well. Despite his success at convincing them to allow him to go ahead with his plan, Ezra hoped he was not making a terrible mistake that would get them all killed.

In war, people died. Those were the rules, he had said it himself. Ironically, those words returned to haunt him when he looked at the faces pleased by the outcome of the meeting even though they were all to aware of what it was they risked.

However, it was not as if there was any choice in the matter. Just like Chris Larabee himself, none of the seven or their friends were willing to let the Empire have Mary =. Each were more than willing to die to keep that from happening and in this rescue mission, they would be proving just how much.

* * *

Once the mission was given leave to commence, the first order of business was the gathering of resources and the allocation of duties to prepare for the eventual assault on Coruscant. Each and every member of the rebel group tried not to think of the monumental task they set themselves. Following the adjournment of the meeting, Ezra took a moment with Bel Iblis and Mon Mothma to discuss the resources  required from the Sluis Van shipyards. While the Council members would be the ones to approach the contacts at Sluis Van, Ezra would have to journey there himself to take care of the finer details of his request. He did not envision the Sluis Van looking upon him or his plan with much confidence, as there was a certain element of insanity to it.

Ezra did not care. He knew inside of him that this could work.  It just had to.

Not long after the meeting, the seven and those involved in the rescue operation found themselves mapping out their battle plan within the confines of the  _Rogue_ , the one place where they could all be assured of complete privacy. There was a great deal to do and time was against them. Everyone had readily decided there was no delaying their preparations now that they were given permission to begin and the air inside the main passenger cabin of the  _Rogue_  was charged with anticipation. The space was a little cramped inside the belly of the freighter but no one seemed to mind since they were all eager to get started.

"So what’s the plan Ezra?" Vin Tanner asked once they were all settled in the passenger compartment.

Ezra took a deep breath, realizing they would be looking to him for direction since this was his plan. Even though he had been sitting in command of the rebels since his arrival less than a week ago, he still felt apprehensive of being in charge when so much depended on him and the stakes so high. These were his friends, the people in his life he  always wanted, who relied upon him for leadership. For completely different reasons, Ezra wanted Mary back almost as much as Chris. He did not want the responsibility for his friends’ lives because he could not live with the guilt if he failed them.

Deep inside, what Ezra feared most was his lack of ability would bring them harm. He glanced at Inez and saw the sultry beauty offering a little smile and was pleasantly surprised how much that helped him. Ezra saw encouragement mostly in Chris and was gratified the Jedi trusted him enough to bring Mary back to them. It was good to know that Chris’s belief in Ezra was enough to prevent the Jedi from rushing to Coruscant in a desperate bid to save his lover. An endeavour which could only result in there being one less Jedi in a galaxy that sorely needed as many as it could get. Of course the presence of Ben Kenobi combined with Vin's unfailing support, was doing a great deal for the Jedi’s disposition which had been anything but pleasant since Mary was taken.

Ezra supposed that if it were Inez, he would be just as agitated. As it was, he was not entirely thrilled with the prospect of Inez joining the task force journeying to Coruscant to rescue Mary but was not presumptuous enough to tell Inez she could not go. When she had mentioned it, Buck had been more than vocal enough for the both of them and Inez’s reaction only proved Ezra’s instincts to remain silent had been correct. In any case, Inez acquitted herself well enough during their escape from Cordoba to convince Ezra she knew how to take care of herself. One did not become a Ground Pounder without a certain amount of ability and those who survived the Clone Wars were even more skilled than the average Imperial storm trooper.

Besides, Mary was  _her_  friend too.

"Since we will have to move fast, I opted the best way for us to proceed would be a three pronged operation." Ezra spoke finally, responding to Vin’s prompting to begin discussing their strategy. "Josiah, Nathan and I will have to travel to Sluis Van. From there, we will coordinate the attack fleet that will be engaging Imperial forces at Coruscant. I have received communication from Chano and Claire Moseley at Jofa. Chano is not entirely recovered but he will be capable of taking command of one of the ships when the times comes."

"I didn’t think you were going to keep him out of this," Buck said with a little smile.  As Mary’s executive officer on board the  _Purgatory_ , it would take nothing less than a herd of wild banthas to keep Chano from offering his services.

"He mentioned something of that nature," Ezra remarked with a bemused expression on his face. "Buck I need you to organize as many of our pilots as you can. A lot of those ships will need fighter escort when we get to Coruscant."

"No problem," the star pilot retorted firmly. "I don’t have to tell you how many want to get those bastards back for what happened at Siraj." As he said that, Buck found himself thinking about Audrey King, the leader of an X-wing squadron who had been blown out of the sky a few seconds after she saved his life. It stung intensely he had not been able to return the favour.

"Tell them we expect to rendezvous with them within 72 hours of arriving at Sluis Van." Ezra regarded Buck once more. "Josiah, do we have a definitive date for Mary’s trial?"

"Soon," Chris answered before the ex-senator could. "I can feel its going to be soon."

No one asked how he knew that so exactly because the haunted expression in his eyes was answer enough. They all knew he had a mental link to Mary and that he could tell what she was feeling even though there was so much distance between them. They understood he could sense her fears and her pains even if he could not know what was in her mind exactly. Chris was their lifeline to Mary though none of them envied his ability to remain connected to her. They could not imagine being tethered to someone they loved, feeling all their pains and anguish and being unable to lift a finger to help. It would be hellish to say the least.

"Within the next seven days the Council suspects," Josiah added sombrely. "The Emperor is attempting to milk this as much as it can. Imperial sanctioned news bands are having a field day with this. Mary is being made an example of."

"It will not come to that," Ezra said with a confidence he did not feel but  _had_  to project. "Alex, you will be taking Casey to Coruscant?"

As he made that statement, Ezra saw both Josiah and JD flinch unhappily at that notion. He could not blame them since he was hardly comfortable with the young girl being in such a dangerous situation however; Casey was the only one who had a chance of lowering the planetary defence grid. Too much relied upon on her to train someone else to take her place. If anything were to go wrong, whoever was chosen could not adapt to the new circumstances the way Casey could. No matter how much Ezra had come at the problem for Josiah’s sake, the fact remained Casey had to go; no one else could manage.

"Yes," Alex nodded glancing briefly at Casey. "I'll take her, Tula and Inez to Coruscant."

At the mention of her name, Tula growled slightly, an indication she was more than prepared to go. The Wookie stood impressively over all their heads and though female, appeared more than capable of protecting Casey and the initial insertion team.

"They will be travelling on my ship," Rayne added her voice to the discussions. "I have diplomatic clearance as a member of House Organa. It would be easy to pass Casey off as a member of House Organa with Tula as her pet and Commander Styles and Miss Inez as travelling companions. It is not uncommon for young women of royal standing to have a minor entourage when travelling. I have already made inquiries into obtaining false identification papers for everyone."

"Good," Ezra nodded. "You will have to go first." Once again, he met Inez’s gaze and his worry showed through the professionalism in his eyes before forcing it away because Inez could take care of herself. "I hope you are certain you can do this young lady," he turned to Casey.

"I would not have suggested it if I couldn’t," Casey returned, sounding very much like the aristocrat she was and drawing a proud smile from Josiah at the same time. "As soon as we arrive, I’ll attempt to enter the system. I won’t lower the grid but I make sure I can do it so if there is a problem, I will be able to give you enough warning."

"Its better than nothing," Vin pointed out. "At least we’ll have time to abort that way."

"I am hoping it does not come to that," Ezra sighed. "It is a great deal of effort to come away with failure and if we  _do_  fail, we may never have another chance at this."

"Casey will do fine," Chris remarked, offering the girl a little smile, giving her some encouragement because he could sense just how fearful she was of letting them down. Until now, Casey’s contribution to the Alliance had mostly involved the codes she was able to break for them. This was one hell of a mission for her to be involved in to get her feet wet. While Chris had no doubt she would rise to the occasion, like Josiah he felt some trepidation in having one as young as her in such a dangerous situation.

"Chris," Ezra looked at his direction. "We need to talk about Vader."

Everyone went silent at the mention of the Sith Lord’s name. Of all of those present, Ezra had spent the most time in Vader’s company to know that any attempt to retrieve Mary Travis would eventually see the involvement of the dark Jedi. When the rebel fleet engaged the Empire over the skies of Coruscant, it would be up to Chris, Vin and Ben to penetrate the Imperial prison where Mary was kept. From what limited experience Ezra managed to learn about Darth Vader during the Sith Lord’s visit to Cordoba, Vader would know when he was in the proximity of other Jedi which made the element of surprise being on their side somewhat problematic.

The three Jedi exchanged glances briefly before Chris responded. "We’ll be taking care of that."

"How?" Nathan asked.

Chris was about to answer but a slight gesture from Ben kept him from speaking. Instead, it was Ben who responded to Nathan’s question. "Vader has been attempting to find me for some time. I intend to have information leaked to him of my presence in a remote star cluster in the Corporate Sector. There is enough history between us to ensure ]Vader will find it necessary to investigate the matter personally."

"You intend to use yourself as bait?" Josiah stared worriedly at Ben Kenobi. Josiah did not like the idea of having another Republic hero sacrifice themselves, not after Mary.

"My presence, yes." Ben said smoothly. "Myself no. I will be joining the extraction team on Coruscant. However, even with Vader gone from the planet, we can still be compromised."

"By whom?" Alex inquired, feeling a sliver of fear as she heard the Emperor’s name mentioned in all this. Little was known about Palpatine since he had become Emperor. He surrounded himself by his Red Guards and the exclusive circle of the Security Elite.

"Palpatine." Ben replied bitterly, his lips twisting up in contempt as he said the name. "Palpatine is a Sith Lord, he will sense our presence the moment we arrive at Coruscant, perhaps even before."

"The Emperor is Force adept?" JD exclaimed.

"Yes," Rayne nodded. Like Ben, she knew the intimate details of Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker. As protector to one of the Skywalker twins, she had to. "Palpatine corrupted Anakin and turned him into the creature we call Darth Vader."

"Then we’re dead." Nathan retorted. "There is no way we can sneak up on Coruscant to get Mary. Its one thing to get Vader off the planet but the Emperor himself?"

"There is a way around it," Chris stated.

"Chris you can’t be serious," Buck started to protest, perfectly aware of what he was referring to.

"It’s the only way Buck," Chris continued. "We have to get to Coruscant without being detected, the only way to do that is to somehow mask our presence."

"You’re talking about using the yslamiri." Alex guessed. She had been present when Buck Wilmington brought back the odd creatures after being forced across the Maw by the machinations of Jabba the Hutt and Grand Admiral Thrawn. She saw its effect on Chris and Vin. Like Buck, she did not much care for the idea herself.

"What are they?" Ben looked at Chris and Vin quizzically.

"We found them on Mykrr," Vin explained. "Apparently there was a marker there dating back to pre-Republic days, warning the Jedi not to approach the planet."

"I’ve never seen anything like it Ben," Chris took up the narration. "In the old days, I would have brought these creatures to the Jedi Council for study. They possess no midiclorions at all. In fact, they seemed to have the ability to create some kind of null field around themselves the Force cannot penetrate. When Buck was carrying them, I couldn't sense him at all. It was as if he no longer existed for me."

"That’s impossible," Ben declared, unafraid to show his astonishment. "The midiclorions are by-product of the universal formation, it is not possible for one creature to be singled out to be without it."

"I know," Chris agreed with all the arguments but there was still no denying the yslamiri existed. "If we have these yslamiri when we go to Coruscant, neither Vader or the Emperor will be able to read us. Unless they are specifically seeking us out. By the time we breach the facility, the fleet would be attacking and the planetary grid will be down, there won’t be need for subterfuge. We can get rid of the yslamiri then."

"You’ll be defenceless," Josiah pointed out.

"A Jedi is still Jedi without the parlour tricks." Ben responded. "It would be uncomfortable but not debilitating. We simply have to rely on our conventional senses."

"I guess we’re heading to Mykrr," Vin stated and saw the others agreeing with him.

"We’re going to need your help JD," Chris turned to the younger man.

"My help?" JD stared back at Chris with a mystified expression on his face, unable to imagine of what use he could be to a trio of Jedis.

"Just a few of those yslamiri is enough to disorientate a Jedi substantially," Chris explained. "A planet full of them is going to be difficult to cope with. We need someone with us who isn't going to be affected by them."

"Will it be that bad?" Ben asked, feeling a little anxiety at the thought of being Force blind. As a Jedi Master, he was more in tune with the Force than anyone else in the room. He had never known a day in his life when it was not apart of him. The notion of being without it was a little disconcerting.

"Yes," Chris nodded sombrely, having no wish to worry Ben in this matter but he had to prepare the Jedi Master for what they would face on the planet.

"Sure Chris," JD answered, feeling a swell of pride in his chest at the fact Chris was asking for  _his_  help. "I'll do anything I can."

Chris nodded gratefully because before this was over with, JD would have to do that and more.

They all would.

 


	6. Sleight of Hand

**  
**Chris had never been to Mykrr.

In fact until Buck Wilmington was forced to land there some months ago by the manipulations of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Chris had not even heard of the place. However when the  _Rogue_  slowed out of light speed, Chris was well aware he was about to enter Mykrr space. The sensation that came upon the three Jedi within the hold of the ship was unlike anything they had experienced before even though Chris and Vin had experienced a minor effect before this. On this occasion however, the feeling was far more powerful than any of them had imagined and easily overwhelmed them, drowning their senses in a blanket of non-existence, the likes of which they had never known.

It was worst on Ben Kenobi who was a full Jedi Master and was more attuned to the Force than either Chris or Vin. Although the older man tried to hide his discomfiture, its effects upon him were undeniable. Chris himself was feeling the same uneasy sensation of being able to sense nothing beyond the physical world. It was as if all the colour had disappeared from his vision and he could not be certain of anything at face value. He supposed there must have been a time when his perception was not so dependant on the Force but that time was so far back in his past he no longer remembered what it was like to be without the Force. It was a struggle for Chris and Ben in particular to keep from being disorientated although Vin was better able to cope since he had been a Jedi for only a matter of months and was still accustomed to using his other senses. 

"I did not believe it," Ben remarked as the _Rogue_ continued towards the planet. "Not until we jumped out of hyperspace."

"Buck said there was some kind of a warning left behind," Vin answered as he felt the same uneasiness but was fortunately able to manage since he still remembered what it was like to rely on all his others senses. "Dated pre-Republic."

"That probably explains why the Jedi Council never heard of the yslamiri." JD pointed out, glancing at Ben for confirmation on this fact. 

"If there were records of Mykrr possessing such creatures, I don’t think the Council was aware of it." Ben replied honestly. "Something like this would not be kept from us." 

"How are you doing?" Chris asked Ben, aware during the onset of their emergence from hyperspace Ben was rather unbalanced by the lack of prescience. Like the Jedi Master, Chris was feeling vulnerable and exposed and suspected the effect might be worse on his old friend. 

"I’ll survive." Ben replied gratefully. "How many of these creatures do you think we will need?"

"A few of them," Chris answered. "Just one is capable of producing a substantial force bubble and if we are to land on Coruscant without the Emperor sensing us, I would recommend that we capture a few."

"Well Casey would have sent your message to Vader by now," JD remarked as the cockpit of the _Rogue_ displayed the looming presence of Mykrr in the distance. "Do you think he’ll take the bait?" 

Chris, Vin and Ben exchanged brief glances before Chris spoke in reply to JD’s query. "I’d almost guarantee it."  

JD did not ask what it was about Ben Kenobi that would draw Darth Vader from Coruscant in an effort to capture the Jedi Master. He supposed it might be as a great a boon to capture the former Republic hero as it was Mary Travis. However, his instincts told him that there was a deeper mystery none of the Jedi was willing to speak of and in truth, JD did not have any pressing need to find out what that was either. If the truth were known, secrets involving the Jedi were best left as they were. JD had been in the presence of Darth Vader only once but for weeks following that encounter, the young man had woken up in a sweat, the sound of metallic breathing fading in his ears.

"If we’re lucky," Ben explained, aware the young man’s curiosity was piqued about why Vader would be so interested in him was willing to tell him something of their plan if not the entire truth. "Vader will investigate the source of the information that places me as far away from Coruscant as possible."

Ben did not add that the false data would also lead Vader well away from Tatooine as well.

"Why does he want you so bad?" JD inquired. "It is because you were a hero of the Old Republic?" The younger man looked over his shoulder briefly as the atmosphere of Mykrr came up around the ship. 

"I would be pleased if it were anything so simple," Ben said softly, regret rising up from deep inside him. It was an open wound he doubted would ever heal and the shame of his failure was evidenced in the world shaped by the birth of Darth Vader. "Unfortunately it is not. Vader used to be my apprentice." 

"You’re joking!" JD exclaimed. "You were master to Darth Vader?"

 _No, I was master to Anakin Skywalker_ ,  Ben thought silently. 

"What happened to him?" JD asked, full of curiosity, oblivious to the sensitivity of the subject for Ben. 

"JD," Chris moved to intervene. "It’s not a good subject of discussion." 

"No its alright," Ben answered gently, grateful for Chris consideration but he was not going to hide behind silence forever. He had erred and erred badly in the training of Anakin Skywalker and it was something Ben would never forgive himself for until the day he died. Anakin had been more than his pupil, he had been his friend and how Ben lost him to the Emperor and to the Sith was something he would ponder for the rest of his days. Considering how much had happened as a consequence of Ben’s inability to stave off the disaster that claimed Anakin, the Jedi Master had much to regret. "A Jedi does not hide from the truth."

"Its not your fault." Chris assured him, aware of the circumstancesleading Anakin down the path to the dark side and Darth Vader.

"Yes it is," Ben responded softly, making JD somewhat regretful for ever asking him now he heard the anguish in Ben’s voice. "I made a promise to Qui Gonn I would train him and I never considered what that promise could mean until it was too late. I should have abided by the Council’s decision. I could have seen to his well being, I did not need to take him as my padwan. I thought I could be just as good as Yoda in training him and I was wrong. I was so wrong."

"Ben," Chris sucked in his breath. "He followed his own path. You did all that was possible to help him, to steer him away from the dark side. No master could ever do more for his pupil; no friend could have tried harder to save him than you. What he is, comes of his own making."

"But I did fail him Chris," Ben could not deny that even if he believed everything Chris had said. "I failed him in my own arrogance. The Council did not wish him trained. They saw the danger he represented, not only to himself but also to all of us. I did not listen. I put the wishes of my friend before the good of all and look what has happened." 

Chris met his gaze and knew exactly how he felt but would not allow Ben to blame himself because Anakin was also responsible for his own actions. "Ben, it is never wrong to put the welfare of one person before an ideal or an institution. Part of our humanity is the ability to feel empathy for another person. It is from that one feeling we understand compassion. If it were not for that thinking, we would have abandoned Mary to the Empire and we’re not doing that." 

"No we’re not," Ben sighed wishing he felt better about things but he did not. Ben would spend the rest of his life in penance for failing Anakin Skywalker by keeping his children safe.  

* * *

The Sluis Van shipyards were legendary. 

One of the biggest builders of star craft in the galaxy, the reputation had been earned over hundreds of years of accomplishment. The engineers and designers of Sluis Van boasted the best the galaxy had to offer. Everything from small fighters built for private contracts, to large Imperial warships and destroyers were constructed within its extensive facility. Sluis Van’s existence was steeped in the machinery of the Old Republic and in the establishment of the new order, the political body of its home world found Imperial rule restrictive to say the least. Heavy levies and iron fisted Imperial rule, which demanded the creativity of Sluis Van’s ship designers to focus solely on military purposes, had driven the Sluis Van into the arms of the rebellion. 

One of the richest planets in the galaxy, Sluis Van was able to contribute a sizeable amount of revenue towards the coffers of the Rebel Alliance. Dummy corporations and slush funds kept the transfer of credits invisible to suspicious Imperial auditors and ensured the rebellion remained well equipped. Sluis Van was aware of the dangerous game it played but it was also confident the Empire could not afford to lose it as the important resource that it was. Still, Ezra Standish was mindful of the danger even though the designers of Sluis Van were misguided enough to believe the Empire would spare them if their complicity in the Rebel Alliance was proven.  

Ezra, Josiah and Nathan arrived in Sluis Van less than half a day after he had put forward his proposal to the Rebel Alliance Council for the rescue of Mary Travis. As far as he knew, the Council had paved the way for his meeting with their liaison at Sluis Van, where he would outline what he would need in ships for the attack against Coruscant. Ezra was aware despite the agreement to allow his plan to go forward, the Council was still viewing it with a great amount of trepidation. Ezra could not blame them he supposed, after all his plan was very ambitious, possibly the most ambitious thing the Alliance had attempted to mount.  

The pressure on him personally to perform was crushing but Ezra managed to endure somehow. The presence of his friends and the rightness of his cause did much to alleviate the strain but he could not deny there was just enough anxiety within him to ensure his actions were all carefully measured. They arrived at Sluis Van on board the _Tracker_. Vin had allowed them the use of his ship while he, Chris, JD and Ben took the  _Rogue_  to Mykrr in order to begin the yslamiri hunt. Ezra did not mind the craft and made a note he ought to think about acquiring himself a personal ship since it was not always wise to travel around in an X-wing fighter.

Instead of flying to the main space dock at Sluis Van, the rebels were directed to one of the maintenance hangars in the part of the facility that dealt with such things. Traffic there was under less scrutiny than the main spaceport and despite their liaison’s assurance of safety it was safe, Ezra preferred to make his entry into Sluis Van at a less populous junction. Upon landing within one of the many berths in the maintenance wing of the shipyards, the three rebels were met by their liaison Kandersan Traal. Traal was like most of the population of Sluis Van, a human and was a man with features that seemed to be especially ordinary. He was in essence a perfect intelligence operative for he had the kind of face that allowed him to fade into the background and remain unnoticed.

"Commander Standish," Kandersan greeted them as they met in the corridor outside the landing bay where the Tracker was berthed. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

 "Thank you Mr Traal," Ezra bowed slightly. "This is Captain Jackson and I believe you know Senator Sanchez."

"I do," Kandersan nodded with a smile as he gazed at Josiah’s direction.

In the past Josiah had worked with Traal to procure ships for the Siraj cell of the Rebel Alliance of which Mary had commanded. Josiah trusted the man and regarded him as a friend although the senator sometimes worried about the presence of a rebel spy on Sluis Van. If he were captured, the consequences to him and Sluis Van would be dire. The Rebel Alliance was too new to be able to sustain the loss of such a valuable ally. However Traal managed to walk the razor’s edge between life and death with no visible signs of discovery. 

"It is good to see you again Senator," Traal bowed slightly in a gesture of respect. 

Once the formalities were done with, Traal immediately hastened the trio out of the hangar and led them across the facilities. As they moved through the shipyards, it was easy to see why Traal was able to operate without any specific attention being placed upon him. The sheer volume of engineers, technicians, designers and other personnel moving through the spidery framework of the facility was enough to take one’s breath away. Each and every person moving past them as they proceeded towards their destination had a purpose on Sluis Van, which usually involved ship building in some shape or form. The people of Sluis Van were natural ship builders and their designs were renowned galaxy as being the most sophisticated and innovative in existence. Seeing their operation first hand, Ezra could well believe it. 

"You have the specifications I asked or?" Ezra asked as the group moved through the complex. 

"Yes," Traal nodded. "Although I must admit, we were rather surprised by the request." 

"You aren’t the only ones," Nathan remarked. He like the Alliance Council had a great deal of anxiety about Ezra’s plan. It was in its way genius but there was also a hint of absurdity about it, which was largely the reason why Nathan was sure it would work. Besides, he knew his best friend and chances were Ezra had already considered all the possibilities before even allowing the proposal to see the light of day. Even though Ezra had always shied away from command, Nathan had known even before Chris Ezra always had it in him to lead others.

While he appeared to be supremely confident most times, almost to the point of arrogance, at the heart of all that bluster was a man who sincerely believed he would never measure up. Ezra had skirted through his entire military career, fearing to try and thus almost never discovering the man he could be, the man that emerged suddenly in the past week and offered hope to those who had suffered the loss of one who could never be replaced .

Ezra did not replace Mary. He could not. However, his ability to lead the rebels of the newly established Jofan base was without question. Everything they had managed to build there in the short week since his arrival was almost entirely by his design. He guided them and the others followed his lead. Even Chris had acknowledged Ezra's importance to the seven.

"Your confidence in me as overwhelming," Ezra gave his old friend a wry look. 

"Hey I'm gonna be your first office aren't I?" Nathan retorted. "If that's not faith I don't know what is."

"Could be an equally overwhelming death wish too," Josiah's grin flashed back at them.

"As you can tell," Ezra turned to Traal, "my associate's confidence in me speaks for its self."  

The liaison chuckled slightly as they continued down the passageway and Ezra noticed the concentration of personnel seemed to dwindle the further away they went from the center of the complex. This was hardly surprising considering the nature of his request. Ezra hoped the ships he was being shown would be in reasonable condition. It was absolutely vital a fleet be assembled for him to engage the forces awaiting them at Coruscant. Mary's escape depended heavily on the distraction he was able to create in order for the extraction team to slip through the planetary grid unnoticed and make their bid to penetrate the prison where Mary was held. 

"The engineers did have one question Commander," Traal mentioned as they reached the outskirts of the station. 

"And that is?" Ezra glanced sideways at the men. 

"The explosive yield of the devices you want placed on board." Traal replied. "They were not certain of what level intensity you were attempting to reach?" 

"At least Level 10." Ezra said shortly. 

"Level 10?" Nathan turned to him sharply. "Are you kidding?"

"No I am not," Ezra said in a measured voice, anticipating the reaction he was going to receive from those with him before he had spoken. While Josiah and Traal was restrained, Nathan as always was vocal about his reservation and a Level 10 explosive yield could engender a great deal of reservation.

"Ezra, a Level 10 yield fired at that range could produce atmospheric ignition." Nathan declared, certain Ezra was mistaken because he could not possibly mean what he intended.

"I am aware of this Nathan," Ezra responded almost indifferently. "That is what it was always going to be."

"Ezra," Nathan was not about to let the matter rest, particularly when Ezra's demands could only mean one thing. "This isn't what the rebellion is about. Even Mary would not sanction what you are about to do. I doubt the Alliance Council would either. Would they Josiah?" 

Josiah shrugged in reaction to the question because he was unsurprised by Ezra's requirements. For Ezra to receive the cooperation that Traal and Sluis Van were about to provide him, the commander of the Jofan base had been forced to reveal the specifics of his plan to the Alliance Council in private prior to his departure from Hoth. Although Josiah was just as shocked as Nathan when the truth of Ezra's plan was unfolded, he knew this was one of the reasons it would work. The Empire would never see it coming.

The Council had lauded the audacity of the plan, even if they were somewhat taken back by the ruthlessness of its application. However, Ezra was correct about one thing when he had addressed the Council prior to that private discussion and it was the fact the Alliance could not hope to defeat the Empire unless it learnt to be just as extreme and beyond. Josiah did not like it but he was once a soldier and knew begrudgingly Ezra was right. The future of Alliance lay with men and women who dared to take risks in order to win the day. Men and women like Ezra Standish and Mary Travis the Alliance could not afford to squander.  

"They did Nathan," Josiah finally volunteered and drew a soft gasp of astonishment from Nathan.

  
Ezra's eyes had dropped to the floor almost as if he were sorry to meet his friend's gaze in light of that revelation. "There is no other way Nathan," Ezra spoke softly a moment later, once he decided how he would respond to Nathan's shock. His best friend was always an idealist and as much as Ezra would like to nurture that quality, it was a liability to have in the kind of war they were waging. "I will do everything in my power to ensure those devices will not be used but we must have them on board those ships for this plan to work." 

"Ezra, it's barbaric." Nathan exclaimed.  

"I know," Ezra agreed, not about to deny it. "It's hardly civilized but it will retrieve Mary for us and for that I think the gamble is worth the risk. Do you not?" 

Nathan did not know how to answer. He wanted Mary back just as much as the rest of the Alliance but this pressed heavily upon his conscience and he did not know whether or not he could live with it. He did not know if this was right but he supposed in the scheme of things, the Alliance did not have much choice. Now more than ever, he knew that he did not have what it took to make the decisions of leadership because he would have certainly been unable to make this one. Nathan only hope that his soul would be intact when this was all over because Nathan was not sure that Ezra's would be if things went bad. 

* * *

Darth Vader read the communiqué he had received from one of the Imperial outposts in the Belkadan star system, trying to decide whether or not it was genuine. It took less than a second for him to admonish himself for questioning its authenticity. Of course it was real. It had all the right codes and even some that were not known to the person who had sent him the message. All the evidence before him proved the information had come to him from an Imperial agency and was no forgery. Vader had no difficulty believing the authenticity of the data sent to his fortress on Coruscant from the Rim world of Belkadan, it was its validity that he questioned.

It did not escape him the information chose to come to him at this time, when the most important rebel leader they had was presently in custody on Coruscant. To investigate this would take him days away and if something were to happen in that period, Vader would not return in time to prevent it. However, he could not ignore the most promising clue he had to his son's whereabouts in years. Despite his efforts to gain the knowledge from Larabee and Tanner, the attempts had been wrought with failure. There was also no guarantee either of those Jedi had what he needed even though he was certain they were in possession of some intelligence, if not the actual location of his son.

  
However the information before him now would lead him to Ben Kenobi and Ben would almost certainly know the truth.

Vader tried not to think of Ben Kenobi as his friend and mentor. He tried not to think about the Jedi who took him under his wing after the death of Qui Gonn and promised to make him a Jedi. Ben had defied the Jedi Council to do it. He had been a child when he met Obi-Wan and it was Obi-Wan who nursed him through his childhood, teaching him the ways of the Force and helping him become a man. There was a time when betraying Obi-Wan Kenobi was tantamount to betraying himself but those years were so far away and thinking about them brought Vader to places he rather not be. The images would flood his mind and he would be forced to face the one person in his memories that still had power to make his heart weep.

Padme. 

He still remembered the anguish in her eyes when she understood what he had done destroyed their future forever. The memory of her eyes made Vader stiffen with discomfort and very soon he was forced to crush the images away before he came completely overwhelmed with anguish. What was done was done. There was no going back and she, who was the one thing for which he might have attempted to find his way back again, was no more.  

Composing himself, Vader activated the communication panel in front of him. It took a few seconds before the connection he requested was formed and the image of Julia Pemberton appeared before him. The holographic image illuminated the dim surroundings of his private chamber as he waited for it to address him first. 

"Lord Vader," Julia Pemberton answered. "What are your orders?" 

Vader deliberated briefly what he had to do before answering. "I have to journey to the Belkadan system on a matter of urgency. I am leaving you in charge of our prisoner." He referred of course to Mary Travis.

"To Belkadan?" Julia's surprise was evident even though the holographic imaging. "May I ask why?" 

"You may ask but you will find that it safer if I do not answer," Vader said shortly, having no wish to explain himself to one of his master's pet projects. The Emperor's hands were useful tools, nothing more. He did not wish to bestow them any more prestige than they erroneously believed they had already. 

"Yes Sir," she responded, her expression souring. "What is your instructions regarding the prisoner?" 

"Continue her interrogation," Vader answered automatically. Mary Travis has valuable information to impart to them and Vader was not about let that opportunity slip. The Emperor considered the rebel threat his highest priority at the moment and Vader did not blame him for that belief. More and more the organization was becoming better equipped and gaining more followers. While their strength and numbers were nowhere capable of launching any kind of attack on the Empire itself, it would continue to grow over the years. The Emperor had foreseen it and so had Vader.  

"How much force am I allowed to use?" Julia inquired. "She is still resisting the mind probes." 

"Keep increasing the dosage," Vader responded. "In the meantime program the probe in accordance with her history. The key to unlocking her resistance is in comprehending what it is that frightens her."

"How do you suggest I do that?" Julia said with more than a hint of scepticism in her voice.

"Find out what she cares about and use it against her." Vader answered. "Love is a far more potent a tool of torture than pain could ever be. Never forget that." 

There was something in his rasping, metallic voice that made Julia pause a moment, sensing the dark lord was not speaking of Mary but of someone else entirely. However, he had made it perfectly clear what would happen to those who imposed on his privacy. 

"Yes Sir," she nodded thinking briefly of Ezra Standish and realizing how true Vader was.  

How true indeed. 


	7. Coruscant

They said that Coruscant was the jewel of the Empire and when one laid eyes upon it for the first time, one would realise that they, whoever they might have been, were right.

Alex remembered what it was like when she first laid eyes on Coruscant. She was a child, being escorted to the Republic Academy and after growing up in the agrarian world of Alderaan, Coruscant was the most incredible thing she had ever seen. She always thought cities were built on planets but she had never imagined a city that completely encased a world. There was no central city on Coruscant because the entire planet was one urbanized organism. The first settlers of Coruscant had built their city and as it grew through the millennia, saw no need to build in new regions when it was just as simple to expand the boundaries of the original settlement. Now Coruscant was an amalgam of old and new construction and the global city surrounded the home world like sedimentary layers of rock.

In those days, Coruscant was a place of wonder. It was home to the Old Republic, the benevolent interstellar alliance of worlds that tried so hard to promote the ideals of mutual cooperation and coexistence, before it collapsed under the weight of its own expectations and the inevitable corruption that came with large scale bureaucracy. It was also home to the Great Jedi Council. Its magnificent marble fortress sat in the heart of Coruscant’s Republic centre, a testament to the age they lived in. Now of course, the Council gone and the rest of the Jedi was a breed dying. The great fortress was destroyed shortly after Palpatine became Emperor and the wonder of Coruscant had dissolved into the growing black of tyranny.

Alex gazed out the window at the expanse of Coruscant as Rayne’s ship, the  _Star Sapphire_ , made its landing in the main space port of the city. Coruscant no longer looked as awe inspiring as she remembered in her youth, it seemed darker somehow, almost sinister. Much of this perception had to do with the towering statue of Emperor Palpatine standing in the heart of the city, ironically where the Jedi Council used to stand. Alex supposed it was his way of proving not only to the inhabitants of the city but to the galaxy at large, the fire of the Jedi was gone forever and in its place was the might of the Empire. It made Alex sick to her stomach looking at it. She and Mary had grew up in Coruscant at the Academy and both of them spent their furloughs from the Academy exploring as much of the planet as they could. Now it seemed alien and so far removed from the place they loved that it saddened Alex immensely.

"Are you alright?" Alex heard Inez Recillos inquire of her.

She turned to the sultry woman who was dressed in her regal clothes, appearing very much the demure companion of an aristocratic lady and wondered how a Ground Pounder could look so elegant but then conceded there was very little Inez could wear that did not do her justice. Alex was much of a lady and such clothes never seemed to suit her. However, Inez looked spectacular in what she was wearing and one could be forgiven for being rather astonished to learn she was a hardened soldier when she seemed born to nobility. Fortunately, Alex and Rayne were spared from the necessity of such garments since they were supposed to be bodyguards and were clad in the customary leathers of that station. Casey was wearing white, the traditional colour and cut of a young lady of noble birth from Alderaan. Alex smiled faintly thinking how ethereal the young girl appeared with her dark locks secured above her head, displaying her often hidden slender neck.

"Yes," Alex nodded, turning her gaze to Inez. "Why do you ask?"

"You seem a little far away." Inez pointed out from the seat next to her. Rayne and Tula were in the cockpit of the craft while Casey had dozed off at some point during the journey and Alex saw no reason to rouse her from her sleep since there was much to do once they arrived at Coruscant.

"I’m just thinking of how Coruscant has changed," Alex remarked, unable to hide the sadness in her voice.

"It has changed." Inez agreed catching a glimpse of the city through the window past Alex. "I remember when Buck and I first met. It was here on Coruscant. He had been one of the pilots assigned to return us home after the fighting was done."

"The fighting for the Ground Pounders was pretty fierce during the last days of the war," Alex nodded in recollection. "I was still serving on board a ship then. Back then, fighting for the Republic was an honour."

"You’re still fighting for the Republic," Inez pointed out. "Just in a different way."

"I suppose," Alex agreed half-heartedly. "However, I’m willing to get dirty to bring Mary back."

"You’re worried we won’t get to her in time, aren’t you?" Inez inquired, though it took no amount of genius or clairvoyance to reach to that conclusion.

"Yes," Alex nodded sombrely, not about to lie on that point. Mary was her best and oldest friend. However, beyond that she was also one of the most important members of the Alliance and the Empire knew it. Before her show trial where Mary would be found guilty of treason before an open court, the Empire would try its damndest to extract every ounce of useful information it could from her. "Chris said that she was being interrogated. I just don’t know whether she can hold out indefinitely. When one is being torture, a week can be a hellishly long time."

Inez shuddered, trying not to imagine what an Imperial interrogation would mean. The Empire was brutal in its treatment of prisoners and rebel spies who were captured often did not survive the process to be tried and sentenced as Mary was meant to be. Of course, the Empire had never captured a prisoner of Mary’s calibre or importance so what would happen to her in custody was as much a mystery to the Empire as it was to the Alliance. However, torture was the only way the Empire could learn anything useful for Mary and even then, Inez knew Mary would resist with every fibre of her being before they took anything from her. She would die to protect the cause and perhaps that was what most frightened everyone who cared about her, the Empire would kill Mary trying to break her.

"Ezra’s plan will work," Inez found herself saying with less confidence than before, once these points had been taken into consideration.

"You have a lot of faith in him," Alex remarked, feeling the need to move the subject to something a little less worrying.

"I have to," Inez shrugged. "I love him."

"I don’t know him that much but I’ve heard Vin and Chris talk about him. I know Chris Larabee doesn’t trust anybody when it comes to Mary and he trusts Ezra, especially in this." Alex declared. "And he made a very good case for rescuing Mary, I didn’t have a chance to thank him for that."

"He hides a great deal of what he can do," Inez confessed. "I think he feels there is a part of him that is quite not good enough. He masks it with fancy speech and a little hint of arrogance but inside he worries a great deal he won’t make the grade."

"That’s crazy," Alex retorted. "He’s good. He’s more than good. What he’s planning takes a lot of courage not to mention ability. He is almost as good as Mary."

Alex was not even certain if that comparison was fair. Ezra Standish had shown he had the same ingenuity of her best friend and in his manner, it was easy to see why the rebels at Jofa were so willing to follow him in Mary’s absence.

"I think he is," Inez smiled, trying to hide the pride in her expression. "However, I worry what would happen if we were to fail."

"What do you mean?" Alex noted the wrinkle of apprehension in her face as she made that statement. "If we fail at least we tried. It won’t be much comfort but at least we didn’t just do nothing."

"It won’t be that simple with Ezra," Inez answered. "He’ll feel responsible he was not good enough, that he wasn’t Mary."

"Then we’ll just have to change his mind," Alex said without thinking twice because no one should ever feel responsible for the situation Mary had placed herself in. As much as Alex wanted Mary back, there was a part of her that also wanted to shake her best friend for choosing to make such a sacrifice in the first place. Surely she would have known the rebellion would not ever wish her to make such a bargain with Thrawn. Ezra Standish had provided the only workable solution to retrieving Mary in what was clearly a difficult task to begin with. Alex felt deeply he should not be punished if it were to fail.

"That is if we fail," she added a second later. "Which we are not going to."

Inez hoped Alex was right because she had no wish to pick up the pieces that would be Ezra Standish if she was wrong.

* * *

Julia Pemberton studied the files on record regarding the history of Mary Travis. Her military record to say the least was impressive. From graduating top of her class at the Academy to her field commission on board a warship. Not many officers straight from cadet school got were given such postings. She must have impressed the powers that be considerably. Julia perused over personal references, made by Mary’s instructors at the Academy, to superior officers who seemed to say the same thing; this was a soldier destined for greatness. Everything Julia read about the rebel leader seemed to indicate if Mary had remained loyal to the Empire, she would have been counted as one of its brightest stars.

Jofa changed that irrevocably.

Julia was aware of the political situation in Jofa. When Imperial conscription policies demanded participation from the pacifist world, the Jofan people had voiced their outrage and open defiance in refusal. It was a slight the Emperor could not allow and in retaliation, am Imperial strike was ordered on the domed underwater cities. The pavilions as they were known were easy targets for Imperial TIE fighters and the death toll following the attacks was estimated in the millions. The majority of the casualties were the air-breathing inhabitants of Jofa called breathers who had lived in symbiosis with the indigenous population for centuries.

Following the attack, the Empire moved quickly to occupy Jofa, repairing the domed cities and infusing it with Imperial storm troopers to maintain security. However, native Jofans, called Swimmers, enraged by the split in their society, demanded vengeance for the deaths of their air-breathing brethren lost in the destruction. They chose the moment of their attack during the inauguration of Imperial occupation on Jofa, with deadly strikes to the dome that now housed their dead population's killers.

Mary Travis was one of the officers present during what was known as the Jofan Insurrection. She had only been a junior officer but during the calamity that followed, she was forced to take charge when superiors were killed in the initial attack. It was Mary and what remained of Imperial forces in the city that held back the Jofans when they moved in for the kill. Mary and her small force, composed of Imperial storm troopers and some officers who delayed the Jofans long enough to ensure the civilians and other innocents in the city at the time of the inauguration were able to escape safely to the surface. Mary herself had almost died and she was the last to be evacuated from the city.

When she returned to Jofa, she was called the Hero of Jofa.

Imperial echelons had her groomed for all manner of things when it suddenly became privy to the alarming fact the Rebel Alliance approached their most celebrated officer. Even worse, she had not told anyone about the encounter even though it was standard procedure for all officers approached by the Alliance to make a report to their superiors about such meetings. Her silence put the powers that be at guard and though it did not appear that her loyalty was in question, someone had apparently panicked and thought it necessary Mary be reminded of her responsibilities.

Although no one claimed responsibility for the order, an order was nonetheless issued for the arrest of Mary’s husband and their child. The superior responsible had chosen an outside agent for the task and instead of an arrest, the father was thought killed with all indications it was an Imperial sanctioned murder and the boy had disappeared all together. It was believed he had survived somehow and his mother had made provisions for his safety somewhere in the galaxy.

If Mary had not turned to the Alliance then, the attack on her husband and child made it a certainty. Within weeks of the murders, she disappeared out of sight completely, tying up her affairs neatly and leaving no trace of her whereabouts. When news of her surfaced, it was that she had joined the Rebel Alliance and was most likely the commander of the cell situated in the heart of the Territory. Other than her military victories on board her personal ship the _Purgatory_ , there was little information about Mary herself. There was the discovery Stephen Travis had not died and an ill-fated attempt at rescue had been made to retrieve him from the infamous Black Sun organization. Since then, personal information about Mary Travis was scarce.

However, it appeared that during Lord Vader’s battle with Chris Larabee, it was Mary who had made a desperate attempt to rescue the Jedi when the dark Jedi had mortally wounded him. Also, it was reported during the situation with Stephen Travis, Chris Larabee was once again one of those involved in aiding Mary in her disastrous attempt to rescue her husband. Julia pondered those facts more than any other, noting just how many occasions the Jedi’s name seemed to find attachment to that of the Rebel Leader. Chris Larabee had been on Siraj when Mary turned herself in to Thrawn. Thrawn had believed Vin Tanner had been the key to finding Mary because of his close attachment to Chris Larabee, a belief proven true considering that Mary was now in the Domicile, languishing what was almost certainly the last days of her life.

What if their relationship was more than what it appeared? The Jedi’s wife and son had been murdered the same way Stephen Travis had been. Could it be unfair to assume that mutual loss could forge something deeper between the two? The more Julia considered it, the more she believed it to be the truth. Something had to breach the defences Mary erected around herself in order to combat the mind probe. Until now, everything they attempted served to make her even more defiant, not weaker. Julia who knew what kind of vulnerabilities could be exploited in one who loved, knew the key to breaking Mary Travis was her heart. She was a creature of instinct, reacting from the gut on feeling alone. Everything in her record showed her decisions were made on the spur of the moment in such fashion. For the first time, Julia saw a way of defeating the proud commander of the Rebel Alliance.

Her mind was too strong for anything the mind probe had yet to send against her. Therefore, Julia would have to readjust its parameters, to spear through her formidable defences using the one thing that made her vulnerable.

Chris Larabee.

* * *

Mary was panicking and for good reason.

She could not feel Chris.

Since her incarceration, she had some semblance of him in her heart. She felt him on some level, even if the sensation was indistinct and far away. It was a feeling she clung to, that gave her strength when the drugs and the tortures became too much for her and she was tempted to break into a thousand pieces. She sat in her cell, searching for any trace of him and feeling her fear increase when she came to the awful conclusion he was well and truly gone. For a moment, she wondered if he was dead. Her mind entertained the horrible thought perhaps no one had found him on Siraj, that he was still lying in the clearing where she had shot him, his body unable to heal the injuries she had inflicted upon him.

Mary shook such thoughts out of her head, aware they would do her little good except to unsteady her determination to persevere against the tortures she was being subjected to.   Her interrogators would return soon enough and when they did, she had to be prepared. She had suffered so far without allowing them to extract any vital information from her. Mary was resolved to ensure the situation did not change. She would not break. They would have to kill her first. Mary was more than prepared to die. She accepted it ever since she chose to give herself up to Thrawn. It was a necessary sacrifice. One she did not regret, even now when faced with such despair and loneliness.

Almost as if they could hear her thoughts, the door to her cell slid open and Mary sat up straight on her bunk, expecting to see the dark, cloaked figure of Darth Vader sweeping into the room. Her encounters with Vader were almost as exhausting as the tortures itself for it was a trial to keep him out of her mind. She thought of recited poetry, filled her thoughts with mathematical equations, scientific theories both popular and obscure, anything that would keep her real thoughts from surfacing under the pressure of his Jedi prescience. Vader’s frustration at his lack of success in her interrogation proved she was partially successful in keeping him out although there was no concealing her emotions from a Jedi. He could tell she was afraid even though she accepted her coming death.

However, it was not Vader who entered the cell on this occasion but rather the Imperial officer who accompanied him during most of his time as her interrogator. Mary did not recognize the woman but she was only a lieutenant and therefore not someone Mary would have likely to have encountered during her military service. However, there was something in her manner and the way in which Vader confided in her indicatingshe was more than just a simple lieutenant. Mary was a good study of human nature and she knew the woman before her was dangerous in a way she had not felt since being in the presence of Laurel Chase. However. While Chase’s power base seemed to rely upon her looks, Mary would not make that mistake with the woman before her.

Following behind her on anti-gravs was the mind probe. The spherical device, coated in black enamel hummed slightly as it followed the woman into the room. Mary no longer felt as much trepidation at seeing the torture instrument as she did when she was first introduced to it. She understood its power over her was limited if she gave little credence to the hallucinations it conjured inside her mind. No doubt this Imperial was here to test her again and even without Chris’s presence, Mary knew she could defeat whatever it chose to use to addle her mind.

"Commander Travis," Julia announced herself once she and the mind probe had come to a halt. "I don’t think we have been properly introduced."

"Its so hard to keep track of faces in here," Mary said aloofly.

"I am Lieutenant Julia Pemberton." Julia responded, not at all unbalanced by Mary’s remark.

 _Pemberton_.

Mary’s eyes widened in recognition of the name. That was the name of Ezra’s second in command at Cordoba. What was she doing on Coruscant? More importantly, if she was here, where was Ezra? Mary was aware Julia had been sent to Cordoba to spy on Ezra. Was her being here proof she had completed her assignment, did they have Ezra too? Mary hoped not. If there was one person who might have be able to fill the space she left behind, it was Ezra. Mary did not doubt it when Chris told her how capable Ezra was of taking charge because she had seen it herself. Most of the time, his lack of confidence kept him from speaking his mind but Mary saw something in the man she could almost call a kinship.

"I know." Mary said confidently.

Julia stared quickly at her, a brow arched in confusion at how this could be. As far as she knew, Mary had no cause to know who she was. However, she guessed quickly where Mary's information about her might have come.

"Of course," Julia said smoothly. "Ezra Standish would have told you. He was after all, one of your agents."

"Not exactly," Mary lied, wishing to put as much ambiguity in Ezra's status as possible, particularly if they had captured him. It might save him from being placed under the same torture she was. "His only interest was in ensuring his friends were safe. He was never really one of us. We certainly did not take him into our confidence or give him knowledge of our operations. Occasionally he aided us in little errands, his role was never more than that."

"That's a lie!" Julia snapped, refusing to believe Ezra was nothing more than a lowly collaborator in the Rebel Alliance. She had not spent months keeping a collaborator under surveillance. He was a fully-fledged member whose involvement in treasonous acts was deeper than anyone suspected. She knew it with every fibre of her being. "He is a traitor and I've proved it! That barmaid was his liaison to the Alliance! She recruited him by seducing him!"

The intensity of Julia's reaction surprised Mary for it did seem as if the woman was taking things rather personally. There was a great deal of passion in her voice as she spoke about the commander of the Cordoba base and her jealousy at Inez's relationship with Ezra was obvious. A little smile of knowledge curled the corner of Mary's lips as she understood at that instant just what Julia's feelings towards Ezra Standish were. Mary wondered if Ezra had any idea of this and it further convinced Mary, Ezra had not been captured, which eased the burden on her already guilt ridden conscience.

"He didn't need to be recruited," Mary responded after deliberating her words. "He came to us and to Inez of his own free will."

"She seduced him." Julia said icily.

"Why?" Mary asked, going for the kill. "Because is that's the only way someone else other than you could have him?"

Julia glared at her sharply. "I don't know what you mean."

"I think you do," Mary stared to smile, feeling some measure of satisfaction for the first time since entering this prison. She also saw a way out of her predicament, a way that would not require more torture or harming the morale of the Alliance by a prolonged trial.

"You know nothing!" Julia barked, feeling mortified that this prisoner had some idea of feelings she admitted to no one, not even herself. The hatred of that exposure bubbled inside of her, until she wanted to lash out and hurt something. A balled fist struck Mary Travis across her chin before Julia knew what she was doing. She had to blink twice before Julia realized the rebel leader was on the floor, rubbing her sore chin where Julia had hit her.

"Do you always fall in love with the men you're meant to spy on?" Mary asked, unfazed by the physical assault. "It seems like a bad way to operate. Most unprofessional."

"I feel nothing for him!" Julia reiterated and knew she was lying, not only to Mary Travis but also to herself. "Not like you and Chris Larabee." She sneered.

Mary did not doubt that Vader would have picked up her emotions about Chris so Julia's statement was hardly a surprise. "Perhaps you're right but at least Chris wants me. I'm quite sure you cannot say the same for Ezra."

"Bitch!" Julia lashed out again, this time striking Mary in the side hard enough for bone to give away.

Mary crumpled to the floor, letting out a soft grunt of pain at the feel of broken ribs but she had to continue provoking Julia. "Maybe it is easier for you to believe he was seduced. After all, someone worthy of your affections has to be misguided. He couldn't possibly be a traitor, could he?"

"Shut up!" Julia shouted, feeling each word sink into her skin like the point of a knife. She was armed and almost went for her sidearm when she realized what sort of game Mary was attempting to play. She sucked in her breath, shaken at how angry she had become and aware she had almost killed Mary in a fit of rage that would see her executed for the act. It came to Julia it was exactly what Mary wanted. If she were to die here and now, there would be no trial and the Rebellion would not have to face the anguish of having one of its own paraded before the galaxy as an Imperial prize. Nor would Mary have to suffer any more tortures where there was the possibility the mind probe could dismantle her defences to reveal the information they demanded.

"Not so easy," Julia leaned forward as Mary was crumpled on the floor. "I'm not going to kill you. Not yet."

Mary groaned in frustration at her continued survival. She hoped Julia might be provoked into killing her but the lieutenant had managed to keep her rage in check. Pity.

"I'll break you," Julia glowered at Mary in black hatred. "I'll break you into a thousand pieces before I let you die. By the time I'm done with you Commander Travis, you won't even be able to think about your precious Jedi without screaming."


	8. Myrkrr

Being on Myrkrr was like being born again.

It was a place of awakenings, where senses dulled by lack of use were suddenly called upon to rise to the occasion again. It was world devoid of colour, where everything was represented in shades of grey, without distinction or character. In truth, Mykrr was as far as the eye could see, a benign forest world, beautiful in its own rustic way and probably host to all manner of life, in particular the rather curious creature that brought them here in the first instance. From the air, it was no wonder Mykrr was seldom visited, despite its serene beauty. Far from the main space lanes, it had too much forest and little else of commercial value. It was a good place where one could forget or better yet to be forgotten.

For Jedi who came to Mykrr, most likely for the first time in a millennium, it was a most disconcerting feeling. A true Jedi did not rely on his powers for that could lead to the dark side even without its traveller being aware of it until it was too late. The Code advised against it strenuously. However, not even the Code could expect its Jedi to ignore the sensory perception that came with using the Force. That was a constant in all the Jedi almost from birth. It was not so much a power as it was state of being, a perception the world was more than it was and being able to see its changes before all others could. It was the first inkling they were set apart from others, that somehow there was greater destiny in place for their future.

Chris and Ben were already suffering the overpowering effects of the yslamiri even before the _Rogue_ landed on the planet but once it touched ground, the two Jedi found it difficult to navigate. For Ben it was worse for he was a Jedi Master and easily the most powerful of the three Jedi visiting Mykrr. Ben used his Jedi senses to seek out any danger that might threaten young Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, which meant being able to hone his perception at a widest possible range. He had been doing so for years and now to have that all that disappear into nothingness, unbalanced the Jedi Master, despite his best efforts not to show it.

Chris was having similar difficulties but contented himself with the knowledge it was temporary and like Ben, considered this to be something of a learning experience. Sometimes, a Jedi needed to know what it was like not to be gifted with the Force in order to have empathy with those who did not.

The ship's sensors indicated a large concentration of yslamiri near their landing site which Chris was grateful for since it meant they would not need to remain on the planet for too long. Vin had the easiest time of it since he was still an apprentice and remembered what it was like when he had thought the Force to be nothing more than special intuition.

It was fortunate JD was with them for at least one of them was not at all effected by being on Mykrr although Chris could sense without any Jedi foresight JD was somewhat bewildered by the notion of them needing him for anything. Chris could not blame the young man for thinking this way. After all, he was the youngest of the seven and even though he had become a man in his own right during the past few months in the Alliance, those who had guided and protected him, still had difficulty seeing him as any more than the wide eyed farm boy who almost indentured himself to a Rodian slaver. 

"JD," Chris turned to the young pilot after they unloaded their equipment from the _Rogue_. "You have any idea how we might catch these things?"

"Me?" JD stared at the trio of faces before him in surprise. "You're asking me?"

"Yes," Chris nodded. "You mentioned you used to trap vermin that threatened the crops on your mother's farm. I don't see how this could be any different."

"It isn't," JD blurted out quickly. "I just thought..." He held himself back and was glad that in this place, Chris could not read his thoughts.

"JD we trust you," Vin reiterated seeing his hesitation and wanting the young man to know that it was the truth. "I ain't tracked anything larger than a man in too long and I'm not trusting myself completely to get it right here. You're the most qualified among us at the moment."

"Okay," JD glanced at the faces before him and saw it was the truth. They did trust him for this undertaking and that gave him a great measure of pride to know that they were relying upon him for something so crucial. "I think only Vin should come with me if we're going to do this."

"Vin?" Chris looked at JD, wondering why Vin ought to be singled out.

JD swallowed thickly, hoping he did not insult the Jedi he revered so much. However, if Chris wanted him to take charge of this task then it was necessary for JD to prove that Chris's faith in by making the correct decisions, no matter how afraid he was of hurting Chris' feelings.

"To be honest, I think the two of you are too out of it to be of any real use. This place has thrown all your instincts into a mess. Vin's not as affected as you or Ben and I've seen these yslamiri, they're pretty skittish creatures. To catch them, we've got to be quick and I think you're too off balanced to manage that right now."

JD's words irked Chris a little but he was right. Although Chris and Ben could function well enough, neither could deny they felt less than whole at present. That lack of certainty in their own abilities could compromise the capture of the yslamiri, especially when the extraction of creatures needed to be done quickly in order to meet Ezra's deadline for the attack on Coruscant. Chris would not allow pride to get in the way of what needed doing. If it required him and Ben standing down to let JD and Vin continue efficiently, then so be it. He would let nothing get in the way of Mary's retrieval. Not even himself.

"Maybe you and Ben ought to investigate those coordinates Buck gave you," Vin quickly spoke up, offering the two Jedi an alternate occupation to take up their time.

"That's not a bad idea," Ben turned to Chris in agreement. The Jedi Council knew nothing of this world and considering the creatures that inhabited its forest, it was rather a surprising omission in their knowledge. There had never been a creature capable of creating a null field that deflected the Force and that concerned Ben. With the Jedi Council and its records destroyed by Palpatine's purge, the Jedi of the future would need to know the vulnerability they faced here on Mykrr. "W know almost nothing about this place. Perhaps we ought to investigate that marker your friend discovered."

"Alright then," Chris glanced at JD. "You and Vin go find these yslamiri while Ben and I track it down."

"We'll contact you when we have them." JD remarked as Chris gazed at Ben in a gesture to get going. Giving the two younger men salutary nods until they saw each other again, the two Jedi left the clearing where they had made their plans and set out in search of the marker Buck Wilmington had found when he first visited the planet. According to Buck, the marker's age had it predating the Republic, most likely in the earliest days of the Jedi Order.

Despite their lack of prescience, Chris could not deny that Mykrr was a lovely place. It reminded Chris a great deal of Alderaan, except it was still undeveloped. There was something raw and untouched about this forgotten world, a resplendent tranquillity that made the battles being fought elsewhere, seem rather inconsequential. Chris thought about Mary and how much she would love this place. The memory of her brought a sadness to his expression he did not notice because it was so perennial on his face ever since her surrender. 

"Chris," Ben said gently seeing the pain in his old friend's eyes. "We will get her back."

"As much as I want that more than anything," Chris sighed, glad there was one person he could really open up to. Ben had known him when they were both apprentices although Ben was a little older and had attained the level of Master first. Chris could have done so but he preferred to remain a knight, having no wish to serve on the Council. "I have to be realistic Ben. Getting her back isn't going to be easy. I'll die doing it but I have to be prepared to fail."

"You have to believe you can save her Chris," Ben's voice became soft. "If you don't think that, its pointless to even try."

"I know," Chris nodded slowly. "I lost Sarah and Adam because I was never there, I don't intend to fail Mary in the same way."

"We won't," Ben stated firmly. He could count how many people he was forced to give up, how many had been sacrificed for one thing or another. Ben was tired of seeing the people he cared about die or be given up for the sake of a higher purpose. He did not wish Chris or his beloved Mary to be the latest in a long line of casualties in his life. "Your padwan is extremely promising," Ben added, in an effort to change the subject.

"Yeah he is," Chris agreed with Ben's assertion.

"Were his parents Jedi?" Ben asked because there was something he wanted to bring up since he had laid eyes upon Vin Tanner. There had been little time to discuss it with Chris with his arrival at Hoth but now the opportunity finally presented itself for him to satisfy his own curiosity on the subject of Chris' apprentice.

Chris gazed at Ben, wondering why the interest in Vin's parentage. "I know his mother was not but he has no recollection of his father, why?"

Ben sucked in his breath, wondering whether or not he should have brought up the subject with Chris. "Because he looks familiar."

"Familiar?" Chris stared at him. "How?"

"I'm not sure Chris, " Ben confessed. He had only a sense of familiarity. "I just have this feeling that I know his face from somewhere."

"He knows nothing about father," Chris replied. "I thought it was possible that he might have been a Jedi but no Jedi abandons a wife and child on Tatooine as slaves."

"You told me," Ben nodded, recalling what Chris had told him about his padwan learner. However, Ben could not shake the feeling that there was something about Vin Tanner that sparked a memory he could not quite put his finger on.

"Is it something I should tell him about?" Chris questioned, hating to think Ben might have some information about Vin's past that might end up hurting him.

"No," Ben shook his head. "There's nothing to tell him except that I have a feeling."

"Your feelings are usually right, whatever they are," Chris pointed out.

"Well this time I'm not certain enough to bring it up. Besides," Ben turned to Chris with a little smile. "Haven't you heard the term, let sleeping rancors lie?"

"I have," Chris responded, not liking anything held in limbo when it came to Vin. The young man was not only his padwan learner but also his friend. It was Vin who had started him on the road to healing even if their first encounter had been hardly the stuff on which great friendships were formed. However, caring about Vin had made him care about the others and prepared him for Mary. For that alone, Chris would die before allowing any harm to befall his younger friend.

"I'll let it go for now," Chris gazed at Ben, making the Master know that eventually, he would want elaboration on Ben's statement. For Vin's sake, he would find out. "But not forever."

* * *

It was time to make the trip to Coruscant.

Sluis Van had been the rendezvous point for the numerous Alliance officers who volunteered for the mission of saving Mary Travis. Ezra had made participation in the dangerous mission voluntary, so the Alliance Council would not think they were expending the lives of their personnel without their consent. As anticipated, the numbers were plentiful, despite the Council's belief that no one would wish to risk their lives for one person on a hazardous assault on Coruscant. Fortunately, the faces that arrived to take command of the fleet he had assembled proved the detractors to his plan wrong.   The support he received from these new arrivals gave Ezra some measure of assurance he was not leading them astray.

"There they are," Ezra said to himself even though he was with Josiah and Nathan as he peered out the window of the observation deck of the shipyard's maintenance section and stared at the assemblage of ships in the nearby space.

"That's quite a collection," Josiah pointed out. "I'm impressed how fast they were able to make those ships space worthy."

"Most of them are just old Josiah," Nathan responded. "They needed some maintenance work to the hull, the on board gravitation and life support. Almost all these ships had hyperdrives installed, they just needed a little servicing."

"And we have enough volunteers to man a good number of them as well," Ezra added. "I would have liked a few more but available pilots and command officers are far and few."

"I hope Buck can scare up enough pilots to fill up our fighter ranks," Nathan sighed, unafraid of revealing how uncomfortable he was with Ezra's plan. However, Ezra was absolutely correct when the commander of Jofa addressed the Alliance Council and it was opinions such as Nathan's that had to change if the Alliance had any chance of winning a war with the Empire. Siraj had shown everyone, not just the Alliance, how vulnerable they are. The time honouredy practices they used for comabt were entirely outdated for the war they were now fighting.

"He will," Ezra said confidently because a commander could afford to be nothing else. If he did not believe it then he could not expect those under his command to be the same. "Buck is if nothing else, persuasive. It will be interesting to see if his animal magnetism extend to the male of the species, as well as the female." A devilish smile crossed his face as he made that statement.

"I don't think I want that picture in my head," Nathan retorted frowning at Ezra.

"Neither do I." Josiah chuckled.

"I don't wish to be intruding on this scintillating conversation but we thought we could be of use to you commander," a new voice entered the conversation, originating from behind the trio.

All three men turned around at the same time and found themselves facing Claire Moseley and her husband Chano. Chano seemed a great deal better than Ezra had seen him last, which was on the medical ship _Angel of Mercy_ prior to its departure to Jofa, where he had sustained severe injuries while serving on board the _Purgatory_ in the battle above Siraj. Chano did not show any signs of his injury but they all knew he could not have healed so quickly and was no doubt here on will alone. Ezra could tell that Claire was still rather concerned about his welfare even though she masked it with the smile she displayed for their benefit.

"Chano, what are you doing here?" Nathan asked even though Ezra had a very good idea without hearing the executive officer of the _Purgatory_ speak.

"I heard you need command officers for that fleet of yours," Chano glanced at the ships beyond the plexiglass.

"We do," Ezra nodded. "But are you in any condition? As I recall you were on indefinite sick leave."

Chano seemed to stand up straighter. The exec deliberated his answer briefly because he not about to lie to the man who was now his commanding officer but he did want to help. Chano had a great deal of respect for Ezra Standish ever since the man had taken charge of the _Purgatory_ when Buck Wilmington had been forced to travel through the Maw. He was pleased to know his faith in Ezra was not misplaced, particularly after how well Ezra took charge of the rebel base in the wake of Mary's absence. The atmosphere had been one of dismay, shock and disillusionment until Ezra stepped in and given them direction. He wondered whether or not Ezra was aware of how loyal a following he had gained since he had taken charge of them.

"I've been better," Chano said after a moment. "But I can command one of those ships and frankly you don't have the luxury of being selective."

"Chano," Josiah spoke up. "I know you want to help Mary but its going to be very rough out there."

"Forgive me for saying this senator but I was at Mary's side on board the _Purgatory_ when  Thrawn attacked," Chano stared at Josiah determinedly. "It doesn't get much rougher than that."

"Chano they're just worried about you," Claire replied gently.

"I know," Chano sighed and met Josiah's gaze again. "I'm sorry Senator."

"No apologies needed," Josiah said quickly, understanding all too well the exec's desire to help Mary. They all shared the same feelings. "I want her back just as badly as you."

Chano nodded gratefully and faced Ezra again. "Ezra, you need me. I know I'm not in the best shape but I don't need to be to run a skeleton crew on one of those ships. You're lacking command officers as it is."

Ezra could not disagree with that and turned his eye on Claire, his adjutant during his time as Commander of the Cordoba outpost and asked, "I take it you will be serving as Chano's exec?"

"Naturally," Claire answered confidently. "I have a habit of doing that for the commanders I serve." She raised her brow slightly at Ezra who chuckled softly at the suggestion.

"And I thank you for it." Ezra replied warmly, agreeing with her on that much for certain. He could not count on how many occasions Claire ran interference for him, particularly after the arrival of Julia Pemberton, when so much of his time on the Cordoba base was under the spy's direct surveillance. Without Claire, he doubted he would have had a moment's peace and while he knew she was more than capable to serve at her husband's side, Ezra missed the past when she was his exec. However, having Nathan at his side on this mission was making up for that as well. When they were at the Academy, Nathan used to claim that Ezra would command a ship and Nathan would be his exec. At the time, Ezra would have been grateful if he even graduated, let alone gain a commission and did not take Nathan's claim too seriously. It was not until years later did Ezra realize how much Nathan believed in him.

"You are correct of course," Ezra sighed, unable to deny either of them their wish to join the attack fleet. Chano was just as devoted to Mary as they were and if he thought he was well enough to help, Ezra was not about to deny him the opportunity. "We do need as many command officers as we can get and your aid is welcome."

"Thank you," Chano replied, grateful at being allowed to participate even though Ezra knew he was hardly in the condition for it. "When do we leave?" He asked Ezra, all business now that he was apart of the attack force.

"As soon as we find out whether or not the primary team on Coruscant can lower the planetary grid." Josiah answered with a frown, reminded once again where his niece was at this time.

"When is that likely to be?" Claire inquired.

Ezra sighed deeply and looked at the chronometer on the wall before responding, "any time now."

* * *

"How is it going?" Alex asked as Casey continued to upload her slicer program into the terminal.

"Not bad," the young woman said confidently, her eyes never straying away from the screen before her even though what was on it was incomprehensible to just about everyone in the room except her. Streams and streams of data journeyed across the screen, casting an eerie digital glow over Casey's face as her fingers worked in a flurry of movement. "The program is seeking out the software controlling the defence grid."

While Alex stared at the screen with Casey, attempting to discern what it was the girl was doing, Rayne and Tula kept a vigil at the windows, ensuring no one approached their location without being their knowing about it first. Inez was waiting in a hovercraft a short distance away. If what they were doing was discovered, then Inez would be able to reach them before the authorities.

The suite of rooms allowed panoramic views in several directions, giving them a clear line of sight of any danger that might come their way. Rayne had secured occupancy in the lavish hotel in order to exploit that feature in particular, not to mention the fact the establishment boasted first class facilities in each of its rooms, including a terminal that allowed its user access over the entire communication and information band on Coruscant.

Naturally, systems that controlled the defence grid and planetary shield would be inaccessible to the everyday user but to someone like Casey who knew what she was doing, it was the surest way to test her belief she could disable Coruscant's defences in order to make Ezra's plan work. Their accommodations were also close to the nearest spaceport and Rayne had secured transport for all of them off world at several different junctures, in case any of them had to split up when discovered. Every precaution that could be taken had been and now there was nothing left to do but to make the preliminary attempt.

Tula let out an inquisitive roar that Alex immediately interpreted. "Tula wants to know how long are we engaging in this test?"

"2.25 seconds," Casey answered, not pausing to look at them as she spoke. Her eyes were too focussed on what she was doing before the terminal. "Any longer then that and the failure will not be considered a systems glitch but an actual breach. If that happens, we'll have the entire planet in a full-scale alert. Trust me, we don't want that."

"I agree," Rayne remarked with a slight nod.

"That's a pretty narrow margin of time," Alex said with a hint of worry, especially since she had no idea what was going on the screen before her. It was not easy for her to rely completely on another person but Casey appeared to know what she was doing. In any case, they had no choice. Mary's safety depended on this girl being able to do what she promised. "Can you shut it off that quickly?"

"Don't have to," Casey retorted. "I've got the program set to run for 2.10 seconds before it self-terminates. I only want to breach their defences, not disable it. At this moment, breaching it is what we have to be sure of before Ezra's fleet gets here."

"Will they be able to trace it back to us?" Rayne inquired once more.

"No," she answered. "The reason its taking as long as it is to get to in is because I've sent our transmission through several relay sections. It will take them a good deal of time to follow the signal back to its point of origin. By then, we should be out of here if we are discovered."

"I hope you're right," Alex sighed, hating to think so much hinged on what happened in this room within the next few minutes.

"Don't worry," Casey turned for the first time and met her eyes. "I know I am."

Alex wished she shared the young woman's confidence but she could not. She knew better than anyone else how formidable Coruscant's defences were and how lucky they would be if they should succeed in what they were attempting. She tried not to think about how this would effect the mission if they failed, what it would mean in regards to getting Mary back. The thought of losing Mary was something Alex could not even begin to face. She was willing to tear the Alliance apart to see the return of her friend.

She could not even imagine a time when Mary was not in her life and everything they had been through together cemented their relationship into something more akin to family than friendship. When they had lost Stephen, they mourned him together. They shared each others outrage and joined the Alliance together, drawing strength from the choice they made. Mary was family, the way no one had been since her mother and Stephen died. Even her relationship with Orin Travis had been less than warm because she blamed him for so long for living while her mother had died. Even with Vin in her life now, Alex was uncertain how she would cope if she lost the best friend she ever had.

"I'm in!" Casey's excited voice tore through her consciousness and brought Alex back to the present.

"You're in?" Alex stared at Casey sharply. Behind her, Rayne and Tula were also gazing anxiously in the young woman's direction.

"Running the program now," Casey ignored her question and responded instead.

Alex looked at the screen that revealed the digitized version of Coruscant's defence systems. The green hue over the designated security systems revealed everything was in perfect operational order. The planet was as secure as it was ever going to be. Air defence battery, urban gunnery turrets, not to mention the energy shield surrounding the planet that would scream alert to every Imperial in a thousand light years should anything attempt to breach it without the proper authorization. Alex sucked in her breath realizing it was those formidable defences they would have to penetrate if they were going to rescue Mary. Somehow at this moment, it did not seem if that was possible.

Suddenly the screen began flashing in angry red colours. Alex's eyes widened as she saw those systems, which she thought completely invulnerable, began to lower all across Coruscant. Even though it was only a computerized depiction, the ramifications were clear, at this brief instant, Coruscant was completely defenceless. Unfortunately, she had little time to study the situation because no more than two seconds had passed and suddenly the defences re-established itself once more, the invasive program introduced by Casey had disabled itself now that it had proved it was capable of doing what they required.

"Did that just...." Alex started to ask but she never finished voicing the question.

"IT WORKED!" Casey exclaimed with excitement. "I KNEW IT!"

The screen began to normalize as Casey displayed an unabashed burst of euphoria. Even as Casey celebrated, her fingers were still at work, retreating out of the system and removing any traces of her ever being online in the first place.

"We did it?" Rayne asked uncertainly.

"I think so," Alex shrugged, glancing at Casey for confirmation.

"We did it!" Casey repeated herself. "It went through all the safe guards and shut down the defences for 2.5 seconds. It's meant to be impossible to get that far! I knew my program would do it! Next time, I can completely disable the defence grid indefinitely."

"Are you sure?" Alex stared at her.

"Yes," Casey nodded calming down significantly. She understood the importance of the question. "I am absolutely sure. I know what's at stake."

With that Alex nodded slowly and turned towards Rayne. "Contact Inez," Alex responded after a moment. "Tell her to get back here. We need to contact Ezra and tell him that the mission is a go." 

It was time to begin. May the Force be with them.


	9. Wild Goose Chase

The creatures in their cage, sniffed the air experimentally with their snub noses, attempting to discern whether or not the humans staring at them through the bars were predators.

There were exactly four yslamiri in the cage and it was hard on first sight to imagine how such small and attractive animals could be cause for so much concern. Each animal was wearing a russet pelt that shimmered with the movement of muscle and were the kind of creature favoured by children as pets. Their temperament seemed pleasant for it. Even now as JD studied them in their metal cage, he could nothing dangerous about them. Yet he knew they were because he witnessed their power first hand. These oddities were the only things that could render a Jedi completely powerless.

Vin did not appear to be as affected by the creatures since he had helped JD tracked them but the Jedi apprentice did not seem overly found of them either and JD could only imagine the disorientation Vin must be feeling so close to its cause. The apprentice allowed JD to handle the creatures during their return to the ship because  JD could tell ]he was feeling rather uncomfortable in their presence. JD could not imagine what it was like to be robbed of the senses one relied upon since birth. He supposed it must be like being deaf or blind. Even for a brief time, it had to be daunting. However, the Jedi were not all about their powers, Vin explained as they returned to the ship.

"It can't be easy though," JD retorted as they saw the _Rogue_ not too far away.

"I was someone long before I was a Jedi JD," Vin replied with a little smile. "I just got to get used to being without that edge for awhile. I actually think it might be a good idea."

"How so?" JD stared at him.

"Well," Vin sighed as he sought the words to explain. "A Jedi shouldn't be about the Force alone. He should use his powers when he has to not because he can."

"Your apprentice shows surprising maturity," Ben Kenobi remarked with a smile when he and Chris came part of the way to meet them.

Like Vin, Chris and Ben were uncomfortable about being so close to the yslamiri but Vin's perception was correct, a Jedi should not just be about his powers. The Force was an ally not an instrument to used frequently. Relying on it too much was taking the easy way and too often that led to the dark side. True, neither of them felt entirely complete with the yslamiri in close proximity, however, they were becoming more accustomed to the loss of their second sight. However, Ben in particular, studied the specimens in the cage carefully, having never encountered the creatures before this.

"Amazing," Ben muttered, feeling the effect of their unique capabilities more profoundly than the others. "I never thought anything could exist without midiclorions."

"Somehow this does," Chris responded, having seen encountered the creatures once before and was not as fascinated as the Jedi Master. "I've never seen anything like this."

"What about the marker?" Vin asked once Ben concluded his study of the yslamiri had receded long enough for them to continue their journey back to the _Rogue_.

"Nothing conclusive," Chris shrugged reporting what he and Ben discovered about the marker Buck discovered during the pilot's visit to the planet. "It is written in pre-Republic text as Buck says but is not of a language that I've ever seen."

"Its true," Ben confirmed Chris' statement. "The language and the markers seems to predate the Jedi Code, nor does it make specific reference to the Jedi but rather the keepers of the Force."

"The Keepers of the Force?" JD stared at them.

"Yes," Ben nodded. "It's a very old reference to the Jedi. It was before the order came about as we know it and even before the code was written. A Jedi Master named Telemar was one of our best historians. He would be able to decipher this in a second."

"Can't we get this Telemar?" The young man blurted out, always eager to have mysteries solve.

Ben's expression dropped at that suggestion and so did Chris's. Even Vin seemed overcome with a bout of sadness but he was able to speak because he could tell what was in his companion's heart even if he did not speak it.

"He's dead JD," the apprentice said softly "He died with the others."

"I'm sorry," JD said apologetically feeling sorry for having brought up such a painful subject. Without even asking, he knew that Telemar was a casualty of the massacre that was driving the Jedi to extinction. No doubt it was the same carnage that saw the loss of Chris's wife and son.

"We cannot change what is," Ben said with a sigh, saddened by the memories of Telemar, remembering the rotund Jedi who had loved his books as much as he loved to laugh. Ben missed him but he also refused to let his memory of the Jedi be spoiled because of tragedy. "Besides, we must remain focussed for what lies ahead."

"Right," Chris nodded and looked over his shoulder at Vin and JD. "We got word from Ezra. Casey's little hat trick worked. She breached Coruscant's defence grid."

"Hell," Vin let out a soft exclamation. It was no small feat the young woman had managed to accomplish. Breaching Coruscant's defence was almost an impossibility, that Casey had managed it without being discovered was nothing less than genius and gave them real assurance Ezra's plan could succeed. "I knew she was smart but I never really thought she'd pull it off."

"I knew she could," JD responded with a hint of pride. "She knows her stuff for a snotty aristocrat." He grinned a little in mischief but they all knew the depth of his real feelings.

"So they're alright?" Vin asked, just to reassure himself a little. Even though he trusted in her to take care of herself, he could not help feeling a little anxious about Alex being on Coruscant. He understood it was necessary but like Chris and JD, he was not happy that the one he loved was presently on the fortified center of Imperial power.

"Apparently so," Chris answered, able to guess Vin's concerns even if the yslamiri interrupted the link between them. "They lowered the defence grid without the authorities coming down on them. I think its safe to assume Casey's plan to penetrate Coruscant's defences has worked. Ezra and the fleet he acquired from Sluis Van are leaving now. They’ll rendezvous with the rest of our forces at the Inner Rim before they proceed to Coruscant."

"What about us?" JD inquired.

"We'll be meeting up with them at the Rim and figure out how to penetrate Coruscant from there," Chris informed him as they entered the open ramp of the Rogue.

"We better come up with some plan of getting into Coruscant." Vin remarked.

"Ezra says we'll go in when he moves the fleet in so we can take advantage of the confusion. Our best bet is to meet up with the girls," Chris replied. "Alex knows the terrain, so does Rayne."

"What about Vader?" Vin asked softly. He could not deny facing the dark lord still filled with some anxiety. Even JD tensed at hearing the name.

"Hopefully, the information we planted will have Vader off Coruscant for the duration," Ben retorted, even though he was somewhat sceptical his former apprentice could be fooled for long. Even though he did not voice it, he fully expected to see Vader at some point during this mission. His only hope was that it was later rather sooner. "These creatures should keep the Emperor from sensing our presence. In any case, I doubt he would be too inclined to face us without Vader at his side. The possibility three Jedi might best him is something Palpatine will not risk."

"I hope you are right," Vin sighed, none too optimistically. "If we're wrong, this could end up very badly."

No one said anything in response to that but it was unanimously agreed it was an understatement to say the least.

* * *

Within the hour of being informed by Alexandra Styles, Casey Wells had successfully lowered the planetary defences of Coruscant, the fleet Ezra acquired at Sluis Van was on its way out of the system. The flotilla of ships moved silently away from Sluis Van under the tightest veil of secrecy as it embarked upon its crucial mission. From the Hoth system, Buck Wilmington was carrying out a similar journey. The captain of the Rogue was leading a small convoy of fighters to act as support craft when the fleet arrived at Coruscant. On Coruscant itself, Alex’s team was also moving into position, setting up the mechanism for the lowering of defence grid once the fleet arrived. Finally, Ezra received word Chris, Ben, Vin and JD would be at their rendezvous point in the Inner Rim.

Ezra had selected the Inner Rim as their rendezvous point but was still anxious on whether he made the correct choice. The closer they approached the core worlds, the harder it became for a sizeable fleet to remain undetected for long. Ezra’s largest fear at the moment was the possibility someone might detect them before their arrival on Coruscant. So much of their plan relied upon the element of surprise and if they were discovered before they could reach their destination then it was a sure bet this mission would die before it even had a chance to begin. He knew his worries were natural but with the stakes so high and so many of his friends and loved ones involved, he was terrified of failure.

"How long until we arrive at the Rim?" Ezra asked as he sat in the command chair of the warship  _Vanguard_ , newly assigned to him for the duration. With the destruction of the  _Purgatory_ , the Jofan enclave of the Rebel Alliance was sorely under powered. By rights, this ought to be Mary’s ship. It still will be, he reminded himself, having no desire to take Mary’s place as commander. Hopefully, the mission ahead would make that hope become a reality.

"10 hours," Nathan answered, having taken his place at Ezra’s side as executive officer.

"What is Chris's situation?" Ezra asked, studying the status reports of the other ships, contained for his perusal in the data pad before him.

"He and the _Rogue_ will arrive in the Rim in eleven hours." Nathan informed dutifully.

"Excellent," Ezra nodded with approval. "Alex and the ladies are moving into position on Coruscant. They should be able to meet Chris and the extraction team when they land."

"Do we have any idea yet, how they will be penetrating the Domicile?" Nathan inquired.

"No," Ezra shook his head in response. "Alex claims she and Rayne will work out the specifics of that little escapade and be prepared for Chris by the time he and the others arrive."

"It’s going to be tough getting them through Ezra," Nathan pointed out. "Even if the little surprise we’ve got coming at them works."

Somehow Ezra doubted any Imperial commander they faced above the skies of Coruscant would be prepared for what he had intended. He himself had trouble believing they had been forced into circumstances desperate enough to employ the method he devised but they had no choice. In a war such as this, the word civilized was difficult to maintain with any semblance of integrity, not if they wished to win. The enemy outgunned and outnumbered them and this was the only way to strike. He knew he would either be hailed as a genius or a madman before the day was done and Ezra himself had difficulty trying to pinpoint which one he was.

"It will work," Ezra said confidently for the benefit of the crewman on the bridge with them. "We will catch them by surprise and you would be amazed how much of an advantage that could be."

Nathan was going to respond when the doors to the _Vanguard’s_ bridge slid open and Josiah Sanchez made his appearance. Both men did not ask where he had been but they knew he had been conferring with the Alliance Council on the latest developments of the mission. Until Casey managed to lower the defences at Coruscant, albeit briefly, the Alliance Council had been viewing the entire mission with trepidation. However, with her success, they had solid foundation upon which to endorse the plan Ezra had staked their lives.

"What is the word Josiah?" Nathan asked once the Republic Senator joined them.

"The Alliance Council wishes you the best Ezra," Josiah replied. "I think they are a good deal more confident of your plan now they know for a fact Coruscant’s defences can be breached."

"You may thank your niece for that achievement," Ezra retorted.

"Ezra, when we get to Coruscant, I am going to be joining Chris." Josiah stated firmly.

Ezra stared at the senator for a moment while Nathan was much less restrained with his surprise. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Nathan..."Ezra spoke up, wanting to listen to Josiah’s reasons first before making any statements regard his sanity.

"Josiah, you’re a member of the Alliance Council. If you were to get captured down there, it would be even worse than losing Mary! You can’t be serious.

"My niece is down there," Josiah returned sharply. "I cannot sit by and let her face something so dangerous alone."

"She is not alone," Nathan pointed out and Ezra gave up any hope of mediating the matter calmly. "She is with highly capable operatives."

"They’re not invulnerable either Nathan," Josiah declared, wishing the younger man would understand his decision because he was certainly not changing his mined about it.

"Don’t you think I know that?" Nathan spat with a little more emotion than he intended. He was worried about Rayne risking herself on Coruscant, undertaking a task no amount of diplomatic immunity would save her should she be captured. He already lost his wife Ana and though his relationship with Rayne was fledgling, he could not deny losing her would break his heart almost as much. However, despite his fears, Nathan was a believer in the cause and no matter what, he appreciated sometimes the greater good had to come with the sacrifice. As much as he loathed it, he could not make such decisions from the heart. The mission on Coruscant was risky enough and if Rayne and the others was lost, the logical thing to do would be to minimize the loss not increase it by having someone of Josiah’s stature there.

"Don’t you think I’m scared out of my mind that Rayne’s down there? I’m sure Vin and Ezra must feel the same about Alex and Inez."

"Do not drag me into this," Ezra said firmly, gesturing to keep him out of this argument.

"Some friend." Nathan gave him a look. "You’re the commanding officer, tell him he’s crazy!"

"I will not," Ezra returned and saw Nathan’s jaw drop open in astonishment.

"You agree with letting him go down there?" Nathan was almost stupefied.

"No I do not as a matter of record," Ezra sighed, wishing he was not placed in this situation. As dear as Nathan was to him as one of his oldest friends, Josiah was of equal importance to him. However, Ezra was not about to choose sides in this matter. "However, this is Josiah’s decision. Nathan, Rayne, Alex and Inez are all capable of taking care of themselves in any situation. They are accustomed to dealing in the shadows. Casey however is not. She’s almost a child. The only reason she was allowed to participate in this mission is because no one else can duplicate what she is capable of. If I had my way on this matter, she would not have been allowed to set  one foot on Coruscant, but we did not have a choice. How can I tell Josiah not to care about the welfare of his niece when I myself am not entirely comfortable to her being there?"

"Thank you Ezra," Josiah gave the commander a look of gratitude for understanding his position so succinctly, even if he did not entirely agree with him. "I would shoot myself before I let them capture me Nathan," he glanced at the executive officer. "But she is the last member of my family  left and her heart and her courage sometimes overwhelm her good sense. I promised my sister I would care for her and protect her, I cannot sit out this fight while she is down there."

"Its insane." Nathan frowned, seeing Josiah’s point of view even if he was opposed to the senator going anywhere near Coruscant. "You’re going to get yourself killed."

"Mr Jackson," Ezra leaned forward and said quietly out of the hearing of the rest of the crew. "On this mission, that is a risk we are all facing. Whether it be here on the bridge of this ship or down on Coruscant, it hardly matters."

"Its not the same," Nathan grumbled and Ezra released an exasperated sigh.

"Alright," he shook his head with an expression of futility. "I had no wish to do this but since you insist on being absolutely stubborn, I am forced to relate the story of someone I once knew who for the sake of someone dear, placed his life in jeopardy because he felt it was a just sacrifice. Despite my best efforts to convince him otherwise, even though it would be incredible risk to life and limb, he was not to be deterred. How did he put it, ‘some risks have to be made’? "

"That’s not fair bringing that up," Nathan glared at Ezra.

"Probably not," Ezra grinned with a little twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "But you needed the reminder in order to feel some empathy with Josiah’s situation."

"Thank you," Josiah returned. "Nathan, please understand what I have to do."

Nathan sighed remembering how determined he had been about joining the rebellion after Ana’s death. It had been too late to save her but he supposed for Josiah and Casey, there was still time and he could not deny either of them that. Besides, as Ezra had so succinctly pointed out, he could not berate Josiah for something he had been willing to do himself.

"I do understand Josiah," Nathan sighed. "I just don’t want to see you get hurt."

"I can’t make you that promise," Josiah responded honestly. "I don’t think any of us can."

Unfortunately for them, Nathan knew Josiah was right. 

* * *

Vader arrived at the Belkadan system and knew without doubt Obi-Wan Kenobi was _not_ there.

He would have left immediately if not for the fact he was uncertain if this had been a ploy to lure him from Coruscant or was merely the result of outdated information. There was always the possibility Ben might have been Belkadan for some business that may give Vader a clue to the whereabouts of his son. Vader hoped this might be the case since it was a long way to come to go home empty handed. He was been entirely happy about leaving Coruscant at this time, particularly with Mary Travis in custody but the Emperor believed this warranted his personal attention. It was impossible for them to send anyone else in the event they actually found themselves face to face with Ben. No one else other than Vader could face the Jedi Master and survive.

The first thing Vader noted upon arriving on Belkadan was no discernible trace of Ben’s presence anywhere on the planet. This much did not surprise him because Ben would be careful not to remain in one place too long. Belkadan was not a populous world and there was enough of an Imperial presence here for someone to recognize him eventually. His former master was no fool and with the half the Empire searching for him and the other half on the hunting Jedi, Ben would not risk endangering himself or the child he was hiding. Vader wondered if his son would be travelling with Ben as he had once done. As his ship landed on Belkadan, Vader was preoccupied with thoughts about the son that he had sired with Padme Naberrie.

Would Ben be teaching his son to be a man and a Jedi at the same time? His stomach fisted in anger knowing Ben would be there for all the things that was his by right. The Jedi Master would consider it his sacred duty, to protect the boy because of his mother. Ben and Padme. Just thinking about them together enraged him. However, Vader brushed that away, forcing himself into the belief it had been someone else who was betrayed, not Darth Vader. Anakin Skywalker was no more. He died when he had fallen into a pit of molten lava. Even now, Vader woke up with nightmares of liquid iron crawling up his back, twisting his body into a wreck that could only survive encased in thick black armour.

Ben had taken the trust of the woman he loved and destroyed his body. Vader was damned if he was going to let Ben take his son too.

It did not take long for Vader to discover upon arriving at Belkadan Ben Kenobi was not only there but had never set foot on the planet. The report that brought him here was a complete mystery to those manning the Imperial outpost on Belkadan. It did not take long to learn that the intelllgence reporting Ben Kenobi had been on the planet was in fact a clever forgery. For a moment, Vader could not understand why anyone would desire such a monumental death wish by incurring his wrath in this matter. Then it came to him. It was not about incurring his wrath.

It was about ensuring that he was not on Coruscant.

There was little time to waste. Vader had to return home now because something was coming at the home world and his senses told him it was linked to the vision he had about Ezra Standish and the skies of Coruscant


	10. Virus

It was hard not to be a little intimidated by the Domicile upon first sighting.

Erected on the top of a sheer cliff face, it offered a panoramic view of the Horan Sea. However, to allow one’s gaze to find the ground from this point was a perfect example of why it was constructed where it was. The cliff upon which it was perched dropped chillingly into jagged rocks below, rock  smoothed through years by erosion and dared anyone to brave it with almost menacing pleasure. Strong currents swirled around the unsubmerged rocks and the general consensus making it impossible as an escape route from the notorious prison.

Prior to its tenure as an Imperial prison, the Domicile was known to native Coruscants as the home of an ancient warlord, in the days before the Republic chose Coruscant for the centre of its government. The warlord, long since forgotten, lived only through the dismal structure he constructed as the seat of his power. He called it the Domicile and though it seemed rather misleading to name it such considering its vocation these days, the name remained and grew in notoriety as it became the centre of Imperial mastery over its enemies.

The area surrounding the Domicile was devoid of life. On a planet almost entirely urbanized, it was something of an achievement to find open spaces on Coruscant. It was not easy to conceal themselves in a stretch of flat terrain but there were more than enough abandoned structures at the edge of this plain to suffice. Since becoming a jail for maximum-security Imperial prisoners, the commercial interest in the location had died away and many of the buildings that remained were left abandoned, festering an unhealthy population of Coruscant’s displaced and homeless. Alex did not like the surroundings from which they would be forced to launch their assault once Chris and the others arrived but at this point, there was little choice given their needs.

The rebel operative gazed out the shattered pexiglassed windows and hoped night would fall sooner rather than later. They arrived here at dusk the night before, unloading all the equipment they needed while hoping that their arrival had gone unnoticed. It was still daylight beyond the structure and Alex felt exposed. She was accustomed to moving in the shadows. Indeed her entire line of work for the Rebellion depended on her being able to blend in and fade away. Being out in the open like this, with no secret identity to take cover behind, left the commander vulnerable and it was not a feeling she liked very much.

As she looked over her shoulder, she saw the rest of companions preparing for the mission ahead. Tula and Inez were conducting a weapon’s check, ensuring each blaster in their arsenal was in perfect working order. It would not do to learn there was a malfunction when they finally made the insertion into the Domicile. The former Ground Pounder’s hands moved over the sleek surface of each weapon, almost as if she had intimate knowledge of its function. Her fingers were deft and Alex watched in no small measure of wonder at the speed in which it took Inez to go through the cache they assembled for the mission.

The Wookie Tula maintained a vigil by the doorway. Armed with a traditional Kaysshyk crossbow, she appeared to be a statue carved in russet as she kept an eye and a nose out of for strangers. With her keen sense, Tula could detect someone approaching them from a good distance away. Throughout the night, her expertise had been invaluable as she kept away the other inhabitants of the abandoned structure with a well-placed roar. While Tula seemed almost frozen in position, by comparison, Casey was a flurry of activity.

With just as much skill displayed by her older companions, Casey’s hands were moving deftly to set up the portable terminal she brought with her to complete the minor matter of lowering Coruscant’s planetary grid. Once the program was initiated, Imperial programmers would be able to trace it straight back to them. Although nothing would keep their efforts a secret once the breaching Coruscant’s defences was accomplished, it was wise to make it all the more difficult for the Empire to find them. The portable terminal would give them that small respite.

The young woman was working fast and furiously to install the components required to mask their signal with numerous phantom sources. Eventually the Empire would trace the original back to its source but as Casey put it, that would take time they could use. Considering what they were about to do, Alex was somewhat grateful for her caution. Although no one except Casey spoke about it, the rest of the team knew it was highly likely that none of them might survive this mission. Breaching the Domicile and finding Mary was one thing, being able to successfully remove her from Coruscant was something else entirely. Even with Ezra’s plan to distract the planet’s attention while they were carrying out the extraction, the odds were still slim they would actually succeed.

"How long until the fleet arrives?" Inez inquired as she looked up from what she was doing.

"In three hours they’ll be entering Coruscant space." Alex announced, recounting the instructions Ezra gave her as well as a status report on how the situation stood.

"Three hours," Alex mused, peering out the window once more and examining the sky overhead. "It should be night by then. Good."

"Do you know how we’re entering the Domicile?" Rayne inquired.

"There’s only one way in." Alex responded, preparing for a great deal of debate on this point. "Garbage exhaust."

"Garbage exhaust?" Inez raised a brow. "You’re taking about the exhaust ports from the incinerators?"

"That’s the one."

"You’re joking." The Ground Pounder exclaimed.

"Afraid not. It’s the only way in. The incinerator exhaust pauses for 45 seconds between cycles. We should be able to penetrate the port and make it to a safe area in that time."

"Should be able to?" Inez’s scepticism showed. "That’s not a lot of margin for error."

"I didn’t say this was going to be easy," Alex gave her a reminding look.

"Sure, sure," Inez grumbled, returning to the maintenance of the weapons. "Throw that back at my face."

"Think of it this way," Rayne smiled. "If we do not make it, it will be a quick death."

Inez rolled her eyes and said sweetly to the handmaiden. "I admire your ability to look at the bright side of things."

* * *

The rebel fleet emerged from hyperspace into what was called the Koornacht Cluster. Located at the very centre of the galaxy, the heavy radiation emanating from the collection of giants stars ensured during their approach to Coruscant, they would remain largely unseen until they penetrated the star system itself. It was imperative for the success of the mission their presence remained a secret until the last possible moment. As the fleet began the inevitable push into Coruscant space, the rebels on board the _Vanguard_ and the ships like it were busily preparing for the battle ahead.

Inside the War Room, the seven were assembled for the final time before their engagement with the Imperial forces at Coruscant. Also present was Ben Kenobi since he would be apart of the rescue team landing on the planet itself. Despite the urgency of their situation, it felt good to be together again and for Ben, he was able to see and feel the warm camaraderie between the seven men who were dubbed the Magnificent Seven by the rest of their rebel colleagues. Ben remembered when he was part of such a circle and felt another pang of sorrow to know those friends were gone. However, he felt pleased for Chris to have found this family in the face of his grief and a cause in which a Jedi’s talents could maintain some semblance of their mandate.

"Timing is everything," Ezra declared. "We will move to engage the Imperial fleet the minute the defence grid is down. Chris, you, Vin, Ben and Josiah will be standing by in an Imperial shuttle we managed to procure some time ago. When the shooting starts, you are going to have to navigate through the battle to reach Coruscant."

"Why can’t we go sooner?" Josiah inquired.

"Every Imperial ship has its own codes," Buck explained. "If you try to fly into Coruscant without producing valid codes, they’ll shoot you out of the sky before you ever see the surface."

"We can’t attempt to land until after the grid goes down and they’re focussed on Ezra and our fleet," Chris responded.

"Alex has given us the coordinates of your landing site," Nathan announced and activated the holo-imager in the middle of the table. Within seconds the holographic image of their destination was presented for all to see with the Domicile distinctly featured as it stood above everything else on the electronic landscape.

"Somehow I’m not surprised they made the Domicile a prison," Ben frowned. "I always thought it looked like a fortress of sorts."

"Well originally it was," Josiah pointed out. "In pre-Republic days. Palpatine’s taste in architecture is dark. He wants to project an image of ruthless might. A place like this serves his purposes quite well."

"So Alex and the girls are where?" Vin inquired.

"They’re at these abandoned structures here." Nathan displayed their rendezvous point with an electronic marker beam. "You should be able to land fairly close to them."

"Do we know where Mary is?" Chris asked quietly, trying to show he was focussed and not as emotionally involved as they knew he was.

Ever since they had returned from Myrkrr, the connection between him and Mary had been severed because of the yslamiri. With the creatures on board the _Vanguard_ , that deep link remained cut and Chris tried not to show his anxiety at not being able to feel her. He knew she had managed to endure her tortures because of his presence. There was no telling what would have happened now Mary found herself completely alone without even their link to give her comfort. Not knowing heightened his fears and enflamed his desire to reach Mary even more.

"Not at this time," Ezra answered, empathising with what the Jedi was going through. "However, once you get into the building Casey should be able to link up to a terminal and obtain that information. We do know she is definitely in the Domicile, under heavy interrogation."

Chris flinched and those in the room, with or without Jedi sight could tell the Jedi Knight was clinging to his restraint with the flimsiest of control. He said nothing about Ezra’s revelation and chose instead to focus on getting Mary out of her situation, rather than let himself become distracted by issues that would only lessen his good to her. Closing his eyes as the others continued to speak around him, Chris reached out to the Force and allowed its energies to nourish as well as help him regain some measure of calm. It was not as easy to do with the yslamiri on board but Chris managed it because one did not have to feel the Force to be apart of it.

"Our fighter complement will deploy as soon as we enter Coruscant space," Chris heard Ezra say once he returned his mind to discussion at hand. "Buck, you’re in charge out there. I do not want any of our pilots engaging the TIE fighters. Your primary concern will be to give our ships support."

"Whatever you say Ezra," Buck returned. "To tell you the truth, I’m not too eager to face ten to one odds."

"Ten to one odds?" JD exclaimed.

"Hell kid," Buck grinned slapping JD on the back. "You’ll handle that no problem."

JD did not look as confident as Buck but he was not about to voice his concerns when everyone present was risking their lives.

Suddenly, a console began flashing at the corner of the room, causing an expression of curiosity to travel throughout the room within seconds of its appearance. It was Nathan who went to it and activated the panel, allowing a stream of data to pass through the screen for his viewing. The second in command tensed immediately and glanced at his friends with a look of ominous concern.

"What is it?" Ezra asked first.

"Yeah Nathan," Buck replied, a little less boisterously. "You look as sour as hell. What’s did that thing say?"

"Vader left Belkadan about the same time we left the Rim." Nathan replied, swallowing hard. "He took a long range fighter from the _Executor_ bound for Coruscant. He should be arriving by the time we face the fleet."

"Damn." Ezra whispered softly. "I hoped we would be able to keep him away from longer."

"It was highly unlikely the ruse would have worked anyway," Ben sighed, disappointed by the news but not entirely surprised. He only had to look at Chris and Vin to see that they had thought the same way as well. "However, it is fortunate by the time he arrives at Coruscant, our plans will be in motion. He will not be able to affect too much of its outcome."

"But he’ll go straight to the prison!" Nathan exclaimed. "Even if he can’t sense you, he’s smart enough to figure out that we might have a rescue operation in mind."

"Of that I have no doubt," Ben shrugged. "However, if that is the case then I must face him."

"Not alone." Chris retorted before Vin could say it.

"It may be my destiny to die today Chris, the Force doesn’t always seem clear to us." Ben returned his hard gaze.

"Neither does it expect us to walk blindly into disaster." Chris replied before sweeping his gaze across the room. "We continue with Ezra’s plan and land as expected. As for Vader, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. There is no debate until that happens."

"Chris is correct," Ezra spoke up, adding his support to the Jedi’s statement. "We continue as planned. We owe it to Mary to see this through."

To that no one could disagree and to the other point none of them could refute, they had come too far to stop now.

* * *

Silent guardians, inanimate but nonetheless alive as far as mechanics permitted, kept watch on the area of space acting as the perimeter zone of the star system home to Coruscant. The sensors buoys remained constant in their area of space, watching and examining all that was before them, taking note of it no matter how insignificant, processing it through terabytes of programming and then forwarding the information to its masters on Coruscant. Nothing ever escape its watchful eyes, not ships, comets or even the odd scrap of space debris tumbling aimlessly through the void. Somewhere in data storage facility on Coruscant was miles and miles of stored observations, forgotten once the analysis of its content had been made. 

The appearance of the fleet was met with usual indifference by the machine sentinels and they responded by recording their observations and returning the data back to Coruscant, oblivious to its significance since to them it was all the same. The information relayed to Coruscant did so in a matter of second and following those seconds, there was not a person at central command unaware of a large fleet was moving towards the home world.

At first, the discovery was met with disbelief.  An attack force at Coruscant’s doorstep did not happen. It was laughable. However, the sensors did not lie and the images were not phantom ghosting or any kind of electronic phenomenon. It was real and it was coming. 

Less than thirty minutes following that the Emperor was appraised of the situation and the man’s reaction was less than impressed, particularly when the fleet entering Coruscant’s space was made up of a rag tag collection of ships that should have been decommissioned and scrapped years ago.

It did not take long for the Emperor and his commanders to pinpoint the enemy behind the fleet was none other than the Rebel Alliance and while they debated over the possibility of Coruscant under siege, neither could any of them decide what was the point of the exercise. The rebels had to know their fleet was no match for the star destroyers guarding Coruscant. An attack was almost suicidal. If it were a rescue attempt for Mary Travis, it would be just as laughable for they would have to take Coruscant for that to happen. And at the moment, the attack force was hardly capable of defending itself against the Imperial armada leaving Coruscant to greet them. 

Palpatine suspected there was more to this than he knew but he could sense nothing that would give the suspicion any more substance. However, if the rebels wanted to take on Coruscant, he did not see why they could not be accommodated. With the capture of one of their illustrious leaders, Palpatine chose not to waste the opportunity of finishing the Alliance once and for all. He just never expected the enemy to deliver themselves into his hands. However, heroes were driven by emotion and compassion, dangerous traits that often led them to making illogical decisions.  

Within the hour, the Imperial fleet of six star destroyers departed Coruscant with a heading that would see them intercepting the enemy in less than an hour. The morale on board was almost euphoric. It would be an easy victory because the enemy was not only outgunned but also ill equipped to face the Imperial war machine. Still a threat to Coruscant could not be taken lightly and there was a feeling that the rebels needed to be taught a lesson in humility as well as arrogance for daring to attack the galactic centre of the Empire. 

Yes, it was clear an example should be made and it appeared as if the Rebel Alliance would be volunteering for that honour. 

* * *

From the bridge of the _Vanguard_ , Ezra Standish monitored the approach of the Imperial ships with calm deliberation even though the rest of his crew had a decidedly anxious look about them. Ezra could hardly blame their fear as he saw the attack signals of six star destroyers on fast approach. In less than thirty minutes, those ships would be staring down the throats of the _Vanguard_ and the rest of the rebel fleet. The communications transmissions they had been monitoring indicated more Imperial ships were being sent for and it would not take very long before they would be inundated with destroyers. Ezra’s plan was balanced on a delicate time frame so he was mindful of those dangers.  

In the background, he could see Coruscant’s silhouette against the sun and felt a pang of sadness when he realized how much he missed the place. Until his assignment at Doldur and subsequently Cordoba, Coruscant was Ezra’s main hunting grounds. He had a nice low level position, which offered little chance of advancement, where he had his evenings free to visit the sabaac tables and take the locals and the tourists for all they were worth. It was a simple enough life and he still missed it. As he saw himself on the bridge of a warship about to lead a battle against the Empire, Ezra wondered how the hell he got here.  

"How long until they intercept us?" 

"Five minutes," Nathan said staring at the same ships on the view screen.  

"Good," Ezra nodded without turning his gaze away from the screen. Once they crossed the path of the sensors stationed at the perimeter, the fleet slid into maximum burn to ensure they would be well in reach of Coruscant before the Imperial ships came upon them. This plan would not work if they were halted in their advance to reach the planet. Coruscant was in sight and so was the enemy. The extra five minutes it would take for the Imperial ships to reach them would allow the rebel fleet to further narrow the gap.  

"It’s now or never," Ezra sighed. "Send the signal to Alex on the surface. Tell her to commence lowering the defence grid." 

"I’m already there," Nathan retorted and was already moving across the floor to the communications station. A slight nod at the direction of the com officer saw the transmission of the signal Alex was no doubt waiting for with increasing anticipation.  

In the meantime, Ezra tapped a button on the control panel of his armrest and spoke into the small communication device attached. "Chris, are you and the others prepared?"

"As we’ll ever be." Chris returned shortly. 

"Standby for my signal to launch." Ezra nodded, pleased so far things were in place and waiting for the word to begin. He flicked another switch on his console and spoke once more. "Mr Wilmington, are you prepared to launch?" 

"All squadrons are ready to go." Buck Wilmington’s voice said clearly. "Me and the kid are itching to give those bastards payback for Siraj, right JD?" 

"We’ll give them hell, Ezra," JD returned just as ebulliently. 

Ezra and Nathan exchanged a little smile. "You just keep your butts out of trouble." The exec declared.  

"We always do," Buck voice revealed the grin that was surely on his face. "You guys stay out of trouble too." 

"We will," Ezra answered before his voice took on a more serious tone. "All squadron leaders, initiate launch at my signal." 

A group of voices returned responses to the affirmative as the bridge crew waited in anticipation of the signal to begin the attack. Nathan kept his eyes on the communication officer’s terminal, waiting for the transmission that would arrive from Coruscant on a scrambled frequency. 

Without it, they had no mission. 

* * *

Casey’s fingers were moving so quickly that Alex could not longer see which keys she was pounding on the portable terminal. However, there was no need for that since the screen before them revealed what she was doing with far more clarity. Digital images appeared before them, revealing the cyberspace representations of the system the young woman was plundering with remarkable speed. Words flashed in its deep emerald hue before dissipating into the darkness of the screen. In a flurry of seconds, Alex knew Casey had sliced her way through the primary defence grid. Her worm program was burrowing past all the security lockouts and bringing its user to the place she needed to be. 

"I’m in." Casey announced.  

The others, who were hunched over her shoulders, watching her action, did so with a sense of fascination, even though none of them could hope to replicate what the young woman was attempting. They saw the Imperial network displayed before them, saw Casey select what she wanted the way she might have been programming a food synthesizer. It was hard to believe she was navigating her way through one of the most fortified computer mainframes in the galaxy. Suddenly, a schematic of the entire defence grid appeared before them. Even though they did not understand the process allowing her to penetrate the system, they recognized it for what it was. 

"By the Force." Rayne whispered. 

"Disable everything, the sensor grid, the deflector shield, the air batteries, take them all down now." Alex ordered.  

"Okay," Casey nodded and began introducing the computer virus that would wreak havoc across the entire system. "This ought to do it." 

"How long will it take effect?" Inez asked, her hand tightening around her gun because she was of the feeling once the effects of Casey’s virus were felt they would be getting visitors.  

"I’m downloading now," Casey replied, punctuating her words with a push of a button. The green display before them soon flickered erratically as its diagnostics system began to recognize the existence of a failure. Suddenly, the digitized emerald display turned siren red and alerts began screaming at them through the screen. Without even being present, the women could picture the klaxons sounding at core command as they were besieged by multiple failures of their defence grid from all fronts.  

"What’s happening?" Inez inquired, having no patience at attempting to decipher what was on the screen. 

"They’re probably still reeling from the shock," Alex replied, understanding some of what was going on and being able to anticipate a great deal. "But I say they’ve worked out that they’re wide open for attack." 

"All systems are down." Casey informed dutifully in case there is any doubt. "The virus is throughout the system, expanding exponentially. The only way they can stop is to shut the entire thing down and attempt to keep if from infecting any other vital systems. So far its only the defence grid that’s been neutralize but the main frame that controls planetary security also controls, power and utilities. They’ll be forced to shut down or those system will also become infected." 

"Good," Alex retorted. "Now its game time."

* * *

"Confirmed," Nathan stared at Ezra a short time later. "Our sensor are reading multiple systems on Coruscant being disabled. It worked." 

"Never doubt young aristocrats with more bravery than sense," Ezra grinned a dimple smile. "Remind me to congratulate the young lady when this is all over." 

"You’ll have to get in line," Nathan chuckled and then sobered up because they were far from accomplishing all that was required this daydays. "What are your orders?" 

"Give our fighters the order to launch. Tell them to remain close to our fleet as we push forward. I do not wish to waste our resources with confronting TIE fighters in a battle we cannot possibly win. Our primary goal is the safe delivery of our packages, nothing more." 

"Will do," Nathan nodded and stepped away from him to do just that. 

Ezra activated the communicator on his armrest again. "Chris, you have a launch." 

"We’re on our way." Chris answered promptly though a cackle of static. "May the Force be with you."

Ezra sucked in his breath and gazed at the phalanx of ships approaching the _Vanguard_ on the view screen and responded after a moment. "May it be with of all of us."


	11. Rain of Fire

The lowering of the planetary defence grid threw Coruscant into an utter state of panic particularly with the knowledge in the space above, Imperial ships were about to engage an enemy fleet.

It was the first time in too long that war had come to the skies of the galactic centre and understandably, the reaction upon realizing the danger prompted a slow response. The most common reaction was astonishment for it was often the case whenever the invulnerable was found itself not to be so. After becoming accustomed to a thing being so supreme, to learn it was not the case send ripples of shock through the people of Coruscant, to say nothing of those who were responsible for maintaining that illusion of invulnerability. As ships became to grow in number above the planet and the powers that be racing to reinstate their protective veneer, it was relatively simple for one ship to enter the planet’s orbit unnoticed.

With commercial and private sector ships leaving the world in a mad hurry to avoid destruction, the systems in place to monitor the departure of ships from Coruscant, became quickly overloaded. It was not long before the weary custodians in charge of regulating this mass exodus was forced to call in reinforcements from other areas, in response to the current crisis. During the resulting chaos, one ship slipped anonymously past the notice of all to enter Coruscant’s skies. The pilot at the helm of the craft was wise enough to disappear beneath scanner range as soon as possible, until its presence if not noted yet, would remain undetected as it found a suitable landing site. Even so, even if they were noticed by anyone, they would have appeared to be nothing more than a short-range shuttle returning from the Imperial fleet from some mission of importance.

The only person who did notice the arrival of the shuttle had been expecting it ever since the rebel fleet had been sighted in Coruscant space.

Alexandra Styles waited patiently at the landing site for the shuttle to appear in the skies above their hiding place. The communication bands all across the planet registered the failure of the planetary defences and citizens were issued warnings to stay indoors until the problem and the crisis was averted. So far the cities remained quiet and Alex hoped it remained that way. Fortunately, with everything so chaotic at the moment, no one noticed the shuttle’s entry into Coruscant. Under normal circumstances, an unauthorized ship would already by swarming with TIE fighters, demanding it follow them to an Imperial landing zone to account for its lack of flight plan.

The shuttle paused in the middle of the sky as it reached its landing coordinates. Powerful engines stilled and thruster control was activated as it gently lowered to the ground in a vertical landing. Landing struts extended outward as the ship made its descent amongst the skyline of abandoned buildings. The shuttle was a beautiful display of lights and motion as it took advantage of the natural cover to conceal itself. Landing on the courtyard surrounded by the tall, forgotten structures, the shuttle was soon disengaging its systems as its occupants prepared to disembark.

Alex found herself filled with a sense of anticipation and she knew that it had little do with the mission ahead and everything to do with seeing Vin Tanner. For a seasoned veteran like herself, not to mention a grown woman, she wondered what it was about the Jedi apprentice that captured her heart. It didn't matter. What was important they was somehow stumbled upon each other and discovered their connection. It was so unexpected and yet so incredibly right that there was no alternative but to enjoy the ride together.

By now, the ramp had extended outward from the hatch and touched the ground. Alex stepped out of the shadows into the open. They did not have much time to waste. Twilight was an hour behind them and they had no clear time frame on how long Ezra could keep the Empire at bay. A strobe of light illuminated the area when the hatch slid open and she saw Chris Larabee emerging from the body of the craft. She was not surprised he would be the first one out since he would be the most anxious to get their plan to liberate Mary from the Domicile underway.

Following Chris closely down the ramp was the cloaked figure of Ben Kenobi whose features could not be seen but stealthy manner made it impossible to mistake him for anyone else. Like Chris before him, the Jedi moved through the night like shadows in the dark, gliding silently forward. In comparison, Josiah seemed almost ungainly and awkward which gave Alex some measure of comfort because she did not feel completely assured of herself when around Chris Larabee. The Jedi as a whole unnerved her and through she cared deeply for Vin, what he was frightened her on some level, especially when one remembered how wrong it went for someone like Vader.

"Alex," Chris nodded slightly in her direction. "Its good to see you."

He meant it too. Chris knew how much Alex mattered to both Mary and Vin and though he had every confidence in her abilities, he worried about her being on Coruscant for such hazardous duty. Not just for her as a matter of fact but for each member of the team who had come to the planet and laid the groundwork for what they were about to do today. If Alex and her companions had failed in their undertaking, their mission would have died in the birthing.

"Likewise," Alex smiled at the genuine emotion in the usually guarded expression of the Jedi Knight. "We’re all prepped and ready. Our entry point will be hazardous but it’s the only unmonitored section of the Domicile. Mostly because it is believed the path we intend to take it is impassable."

"Is it?" Josiah asked, uncertain of where she was indicating.

"It is manageable," she said with some measure of hesitation. "But dangerous. Unfortunately, it is also the only way we have to enter the place and without it, we have no way of reaching Mary."

"It will do," Ben replied positively, sensing her anxiousness to help her friend.

"No one said this was going to be easy," Josiah remarked, smiling at Alex.

Alex glanced at the cages he and Chris were carrying and noted the creatures scurrying inside its confines. She could not imagine how such charming life forms had the ability to render a Jedi powerless but she had seen them do it and so she not doubt their power, no matter how unlikely it seemed. "How long will you need to keep those? We can’t make it through the exhaust ports carrying those cages."

"We won’t have to," Chris answered while stealing a glance at the yslamiri in their cages. Their effects on the Jedi had not lessened one wit since coming into contact with them but at least Chris was managing to tolerate them enough to handle their presence. "We’ll keep them long enough to penetrate the prison. Vin seems to have a better tolerance for them than Ben or I so he can carry them."

"Thanks," Vin Tanner announced his presence to Alex upon emerging from the hatchway. "Make me do all the hard work."

Alex burst into a wide grin and the affection between the two was easy to see by the corresponding smile she engendered from the apprentice. The three men continued their departure from the ship as Alex and Vin met in a gentle kiss of greeting. Warm lips engaged each other briefly since nothing more passionate was possible and in truth not really required for either to know how much they felt at seeing each other again. Once they parted, they turned their attention back to their friends, their previous display of emotion rescinded to a simple look of warmth. Alex in particular was soon all business and despite the tender moment, it did not take her long to return to the persona of Commander Styles.

"We have to take advantage of the night," Alex explained as they returned to their hideout. "Casey is not sure how long it will take Central Command to repair the damage caused by her program so we have to be make sure we have Mary before that happens."

"What about the shuttle?" Chris asked referring to the craft behind them.

"Leave it," Alex retorted with hesitation. "We won’t be able to use it to get off the planet. The way everyone is rushing to get off the planet, the ships we have would be better served for our escape. Rayne’s ship has diplomatic clearance, they won’t search it. When we have Mary we’ll split up into two teams, Rayne will take Mary and get off the planet. Casey can go with them and you too senator." Alex looked over her shoulder at Josiah.

"I should remain with you," Josiah reminded.

Alex paused a moment and Chris could tell that whatever she was to say was not something Josiah was not going to wish to hear and it required no insight in the Force to make that determination just the stern look in her eyes. It came from years of authority and those she was unaccustomed to wielding it as Mary did, Chris could tell that it did not frighten her to use it or to exert it.

"Josiah," Alex let out a deep breath. "I love the fact that you’ve come out here and placed your life on the line not only for Mary but also for Casey. You were always keeping an eye, not only on Mary but on me too and I love you for that. You are my family so please take this in the spirit that this is given. You may be a member of the Alliance Council but on this mission, you are a part of  _my_  team. I decide what is an acceptable risk and at this moment, you are almost as valuable to the Empire as Mary is and I will not have you risking your life any more than you have to. I understand you want to help her and I will not deny you that but once we’re done, once we’ve freed Mary, you will take her and Casey and you leave or else you can march back to the shuttle now."

Chris and Ben glanced at each other and then at Vin who merely shrugged his shoulders in a clear indication he was not involving himself in this and offered silent advice they should do the same. In truth, Alex was right, this was her mission and she was not refusing Josiah the chance to participate, merely being cautious. Once Mary was rescued, their presence here would be exposed and it would be exceedingly dangerous for Josiah to remain at large. It was a good tactical decision for the Senator to take Mary and Casey off planet first. As Chris waited for Josiah to answer, he could see the understanding filter into Josiah’s eyes.

"You strike a tough bargain commander," Josiah sighed.

"Only because I care about you as much as I care about Mary." Alex returned. "Do we have a deal?"

"Of course we do," Josiah nodded. "I’ve been a negotiator long enough to know a good arrangement when I see it. Thank you for letting me help."

"As if I could stop you," Alex replied and came forward and hugged Josiah warmly. This was the man who took her and Mary on their first trip to the Republic Senate and allowed them to watch a hearing. Since Mary’s father was never around during her youth, it was Josiah who often filled the role of parent in her life and in some way, in Alex’s too. She was never as close to Orin as she should have been so in many ways, Josiah had been a surrogate to her as well.

Alex pulled away from him now that the issue was settled and the tough expression fell over her face again as she regarded the men before her. "General, we’ve had word Vader is on his way back to Coruscant," she replied as she resumed walking.

"We’ve had that intelligence as well," Ben nodded as they started following her towards the darkened buildings. "Chances are good he’ll know that our attempt to engage the fleet is a ruse."

"Then he’ll come straight here," Alex declared, throwing a brief glimpse at him for confirmation.

"Yes," Ben answered, confirming her worst fears. "I will face him alone."

"No you won’t," she declared. "We stick with the plan to release Mary. I will not be the commander who lost General Kenobi on a mission. If it becomes unavoidable, then so be it but I want your promise you will follow the parameters of the mission, not your personal agenda? Is that clear?"

Ben cracked a smile and gave Vin a look, "is she always like this?"

"This is her good day," Vin threw Alex a smile full of mischief.

"Makes you feel any better," Chris added, "she’s not as bad as Mary."

"That’s comforting." Ben returned his gaze to Alex. "I am at your disposal."

"Don’t you forget it," she retorted with a little smile and crooked brow. "Now let’s quit this jawing and get moving! Hell, I never thought a bunch of Jedi and one Republic senator could be so difficult to motivate."

"Don’t you just love her?" Vin grinned as Alex strode forward leaving them behind and the apprentice hurried his pace to catch up with her.

"They deserve each other," Josiah chuckled and received similar response of agreement on that point from both Chris and Ben

* * *

Both fleets stared at each other as if they were the each others reflected image in a sheet of looking glass.

The Imperial fleet did not waste time surging towards the rebels in classic Imperial attack strategy. From the bridge of the _Vanguard_ , Ezra had expected this. It was part of the reason why he brought the rebel fleet into Coruscant’s space so quickly. He wanted the battlefield for their engagement to be the skies above the planet. It was there it would have its greatest impact and would allow for the distraction the ground force needed to rescue Mary Travis.

As the space between the two opposing forces continued to dwindle, Ezra took a deep breath and knew now was the time to launch the attack upon which so much depended. The Imperial had no doubt studied their ships and determined the aged junkers he had acquired at Sluis Van to be wholly incapable of matching them in battle. Ezra hoped the misconception would follow the Imperial commanders for many nights after this day because he was about to show them just how deceiving looks could be.

"They’re moving to engage," Nathan stated as he stood by Ezra’s command chair and stared at the image on the viewer before them. In any other situation, the phalanx of star destroyers should have terrified them to the core but now the bridge was aware of what their commander planned, it seemed only as if the stage was finally set for the trap to be sprung.

"Standard Imperial procedures," Ezra smiled and Nathan nodded in agreement. "Engage with no quarter given when the odds are on their side, a very presumptuous stance to take."

"What are your orders?" Nathan asked even though he had a fair idea.

"Do we have communications with the rest of our fleet?" Ezra glanced at him.

"Yes, they’re standing by for your orders." Nathan answered automatically.

"My orders are simple," Ezra spoke clearly so that the commanders at the helm of the other ships could hear him. "Proceed at maximum burn. I want ramming speed."

* * *

For a few seconds, the Imperial fleet were uncertain of the unusual tactic employed by the commander of their enemy armada but they did recognize the ships previously considered ill matched to engage them were surging towards them, leaving heated trails of exhaust plasma behind them. The ships appeared barely able to reach light speed but that did not stop them accelerating forward with such power the Imperial commanders considered halting their own rapid advance until they discerned what the enemy was doing. The rebel ships may have been numerous but its armament and its artillery were incapable of successfully defeating their Imperial foes and yet they were still speeding forward, preparing to engage as if they could win.

Despite the confusion and despite the conflicting signals, the Imperial fleet maintained its course ahead, remaining confident it could handle whatever strategy the enemy was about to assail them with. Even though the evidence was mounting the enemy fleet was forging ahead at ramming speed, the Imperial commanders could not bring themselves to believe the rebels were launching an attack with only that as their main tactic. It was ludicrous.

Wasn’t it?

* * *

"They’re not moving," Nathan shook his head in disbelief. "They’re still coming at us."

Ezra was not surprised.

"They think we are bluffing." He stated confidently as the destroyers loomed closer in the view screen. "They cannot possibly believe we would attempt a full frontal assault with nothing more than ramming speed as our defence. At this moment, their commanders have assessed the risk and possibilities of what we could be doing. Until now, we have used similar combat tactics when we engage each other. They assume most of our commanders are Academy trained so they believe they are capable of out thinking us."

Nathan could see what Ezra was driving at. The commanders out there were judging the battle they were fighting with the rebels by the standard of those fought before this day. It was likely they have studied previous attacks between Imperial and Alliance forces and have deduced the obvious could not possibly be based on what they had seen before. It was part of the reason why Mary had been so successful when engaging the Imperial in aerial combat. She did not play by the rules they expected her to because she was once one of them. Mary, like Ezra, understood how that expectation could be used as a weakness and then exploited.

"They pick the wrong man to gamble with," Nathan gave him a sidelong glance full of mischief. And it was the truth. That was all this entire battle was to Ezra on some level, an elaborate game of sabaac in which he had assembled his pieces and positioned them for the gamble of his life. If there was one person who knew how to play the odds, it was Ezra Standish. Nathan had watched him play the game all his life, on the table and in life. This entire affair over Coruscant, was just the latest in a life dedicated to testing the boundaries of chance and besting it.

"Well you know I never play with paltry stakes," Ezra offered his old friend a fond smile that only came through years of friendship. He could tell that Nathan was feeling very proud of him because he was justifying the man’s belief in him. Ezra often wondered what it was Nathan saw that inspired such unswerving faith in his abilities. Heaven knew he never saw such potential when he looked in the mirror. However, he did know how to gamble and bluffing was something he was capable of doing exceptionally well. He just never thought he would be able to put it to such use in a situation like this.

"Helm, drop our speed and let the rest of the fleet pass us." Ezra instructed, issuing the next phase of his plan.

"Yes Sir," the helm officer at the head of the bridge answered promptly. The order did not surprise any of the officers serving on the bridge at the moment because they knew what their leader had in mind and it was a stroke of insane genius if not a little more ruthless than they expected. Unfortunately, the past few years in the trenches had taught them well and they were seasoned soldiers who knew that in war, no one could completely keep their hands free of blood.

The deceleration of the _Vanguard’s_ engines could be heard in by the slight hum in the bulkhead that lasted no more than a fraction of a second. When it was gone, they saw the other ships moving past them through the view screen and through the observation windows on the bridge. The old ships, long since past their prime continued onward, about to end their existence as ships of war in a final battle that would be remembered for decades to come if Ezra’s gamble succeeded. Ezra watched the old warships, the cruisers and the frigates leaving the _Vanguard_ behind and felt a certain amount of sadness that he was going to responsible for their end. However, there had been no choice. He had made the gamble and now he was being called.

"Is the channel to the other ships open?" Ezra glanced at Nathan.

"Its open," Nathan nodded. "It’s now or never."

"It is now," Ezra said firmly. "I will not risk any more lives than necessary."

Nathan nodded in understanding and said nothing further, allowing Ezra to issue his final instructions to the fleet that had been briefly under his command but no more.

Ezra gazed at his friend, seeing Nathan’s confidence and silent urgings to continue before he spoke in a loud and authoritative voice.

"All hands on board the fleet, set course for ramming speed and abandon ship. Repeat abandon ship. All life pods will rendezvous with the  _Vanguard_. We are currently holding position. Once you have ejected from your ships, return to the Vanguard. Repeat, return to the Vanguard."

With that Ezra turned to Nathan, "patch me a channel to our fighter squadrons."

Nathan stepped up to his post and tapped a few buttons on the console before turning to Ezra. "You’re on."

"All fighter squadrons, you will break off support to your respective ships once the life pods have been launched. You are to provide escort and safe passage for all life pods returning to the _Vanguard_. Do not engage the Empire. Our warships will see to that task without any fighter assistance. Our primary concern is the safe return of all our people in the life pods."

"Heard you loud and clear Ezra," Buck Wilmington’s voice filtered through. "We’ll bring everyone home safe and sound."

"That goes for you too Buck," Nathan reminded. "Remember, maintain minimal safety distance. The deflector shields on that fighter of yours isn’t like the _Rogue_ , its not going to like having to absorb the amount of power that’s about to fill this area of space in a few minutes."

"I’ll keep it mind," Buck responded. "Besides, I’m not about to get myself killed when things are about to get real interesting."

Interesting was an understatement, Ezra thought. He hoped the Imperial commanders found it just as inspiring.

* * *

It was during the exodus of life pods the Imperial commanders whom Ezra had up to this point confounded, began to realize their reasoning had led them headlong into a disaster of gargantuan proportions. The fact the rebels were abandoning their ships and the lead attack craft had suddenly dropped to the rear of the battlefield, gave the astonished Imperial commanders some idea of what was about to happen. As frantic signals began relaying across the Imperial fleet, most having to do with withdrawal, the disbelief at being asked to retreat from a lesser enemy was almost as debilitating as the fact the gap between two fleets were too narrow to avoid the inevitable collision.

Collision would have done some damage to the heavily armoured star destroyers but not enough to secure Ezra the victory he wanted or provide the disabling consequences to the fleet that would leave Coruscant completely vulnerable. Ezra had wanted Coruscant to feel so completely defenceless and exposed so it would wreak utter chaos throughout the quadrant and unprecedented terror throughout the planet itself. He wanted to ensure every person on Coruscant who had reason to fear the Alliance, to overwhelm the resources of the authorities otherwise be focussed on the Domicile when the extraction team penetrated its confines to release Mary Travis.

Collision would not do that.

Warships armed with mass destruct anti-matter weapons could.

Each warships was installed with an antimatter weapon that ensured when it collided with a star destroyer, not even its formidable armaments or its deflector shield would prevent it from being mortally crippled if not completely annihilated. The engineers who had installed the devices were uncertain how destructive the blasts would be since such a strategy had never been utilized in modern warfare. The Alliance Council had called it ruthless, some even barbaric but as Ezra and his people retreated from the kill zone, he knew he was also going to give them their most brilliant military victory to date.

The first warship, an old Corellian frigate that had seen better days ploughed into the side of the Imperial warship called the  _Fury_. The  _Fury_  banked hard, attempting to avoid the warship but had not the manoeuvrability to avoid the impact. The nose of the frigate slammed hard into the starboard section of the Imperial craft. The damage was significant with spidery webs of energy cackling over the length of the ship and flares of amber across the hull. Then the frigate exploded and when it did, it took with it half the ship. The  _Fury_  dipped at a 45-degree angle as large chunks of its hull broke away from the main body of the craft. Debris filled space briefly ignited like fireflies over the dark canvas. The rest of the destroyer did not last long after than and the entire ship ruptured with a thunderous that would have deafen anyone if there had been air to carry its powerful roar.

The destruction of the _Fury_ had a profound effect on the Imperial fleet. Now faced with the awesome truth of the danger they faced, began retreating. However, it was too late. The warships, each programmed by remote to target one specific ship would not be denied in its efforts. The destroyers either choosing to fight or to run found the delay was costly and those who lingered long enough to open fire on the closing fleet of warships, soon found themselves unable to escape the kamikaze enemy. Old ships, forgotten and written off as less than a match were now bringing terror to those who had been arrogant enough to discount them.

Another destroyer was hit and this time it took the brunt of the collision from a Hapes cruiser. The hull of the Hapes cruiser cracked open like an egg when it impacted on the stern of the destroyer  _Venture_. It crumpled inwards before a bright blinding light filled the space both ships occupied, like an old star saying its final goodbye, filling the world full of light before disappearing, leaving flaming embers in its wake. Other ships met a similar fate, their metal hulls bursting with energy as the explosions tore through their armoured plated hides like paper. Those that were not entirely destroyed, suffered massive casualties and damage to their systems, some lost power entirely and drifted aimless until Coruscant’s gravity began pulling them to it, debris and all.

On the surface of Coruscant, terrified citizens watched the night sky flare with destruction and likened it to a rain of fire descending upon them.

 


	12. Domicile

When the skies over Coruscant came alive with the colour of destruction, Chris knew it was time to proceed at last to recover Mary.

From the planet itself, the violent battle in space looked more like a fire works display for a celebration, rather than a life and death struggle where hundreds were dying with each burst of light. For once Chris was thankful the yslamiri was in such close proximity for he had no wish to feel the dying souls engaged in the battle, not when he needed his concentration for the task ahead. However by that same token, he could not feel Mary either and that concerned him. He thought there could be nothing so terrible as feeling her die inside his mind but now he was faced with something even worse, not being able to feel her at all.

Ezra told them that they would know the signal to proceed when they saw it and when the sky came alive with colour, there was no mistaking what it for what it was; the opportunity they were waiting for to proceed. Unfortunately, there would be no way to mask their approach to the Domicile other than to travel forward in near pitch-black darkness, with the engines rigged for silent running. It was as much cover as they were going to receive and Chris hoped as they set out across the space between their hiding place and the prison that the attention of those within the structure would be focussed on the melee occurring in the skies above.

"How will we know if they’ve seen us?" Josiah inquired as the speeder they were in surged through the night towards the looming structure of the Domicile. As they approached, they could hear the sound of crushing waves against the rock as they neared the cliff face upon which the prison was erected.

"That’s easy," Vin drawled. "They won’t blast us to pieces."

"Way to instil confidence in the troops Vin," Chris gave the younger man a look.

"Unfortunately, he’s right." Alex answered as she piloted the speeder. "There are usually manned batteries on the top of that thing making sure no one does what we’re about to do. Fortunately, I don’t think anyone is going to be paying much attention to us." Her comment was punctuated by another brilliant flash in the sky. Flaming debris was falling to earth, captured by the gravitational field of the planet. The night sky appeared to be inundated with falling stars and though it appeared spectacular, those who knew the cause of it felt a chill of fear run through them seeing it rather than excitement or awe.

"Ezra’s plan seems to be working," Inez said grimly, proud of her lover but also sad it required so much death for them to rescue Mary. Somehow Inez did not think Mary would be happy of the lives it had cost for her to secure her freedom, even if they were Imperial lives. Unfortunately, it did not do to think in those terms, not whilst they were in their present situation.

"It had the benefit of never being attempted before," Ben pointed out as he added his gaze to those who were watching the conflagration in the night sky. It was hard to tell the difference between the stars and the fiery glow that emanated from ships severely damaged and bleeding from open wounds. Some were entering the atmosphere, streaking through the skies like comets, trailing dust and fire behind them. Ben hoped by the time they were ready to impact, the intense heat of re-entry would burn away most of its bulk or else Coruscant’s night of terror was only just beginning.

"We needed a distraction," Josiah replied softly. "We got it. We better make the most of it while we can."

Tula gave a slight rumble of agreement with the senator. The Wookie and Josiah had spent much time in each other’s company when Tula escorted Josiah home to Kashyyyk where he had approached the enslaved planet to join the Alliance. Although the Wookies were limited in what they could provide in hardware, they made up for their lack of resources by their heart. The Alliance felt privilege to have their participation because the race though peaceful in nature, could be passionate warriors when properly provoked and what had been done to Kashyyyk and its populace certainly warranted their utmost dislike for the Empire.

"Everyone quiet," Chris ordered as the speeder neared the prison.

Silence befell the group as they moved closer to the structure, their breaths held as they waited in anticipation to see if they were seen or not. If they were, their answer would be one shot burst from an ion cannon would end not only the mission for them, but everything else they might ever be. Alex was tense as she inched the craft closer and closer to the nearest exhaust port, it’s fiery opening visible by each breath of flames gushing forth at each cycle. The others soon shared her reaction as they saw the surge that exploded with such incendiary results.

Its radiant light beckoned to them, like a whisper or soft caress in a night filled with eternal cold. The speeder followed the siren song of amber light, oblivious to the anxiety of its passengers as its continued single minded on its course. Silence overcame them as they waited for response from the Imperial sentinels perched in their places of power, momentarily distracted by the terrible battle in the sky. They hoped this was the case because if they were wrong, if Ezra’s distraction did not work, then they would all die here and now, failing in their purpose without ever reaching Mary and that was something they could not afford.

The short journey across the plain had become something else in the darkness, some impossible test they had to complete before being allowed to embark on their true quest. For each and everyone of them, it was a test of faith and courage, of knowing that to fight for something, one was willing to die for it and in this moment, there was no greater expression of that belief. No one spoke as they speeder hummed tonelessly, its noise drowned out by sound of waves, assailing the jagged shore on the rocks below. Soon the sky disappeared before them and all there was left was the Domicile, dark and foreboding, sinister in its brick walls and stone foundations, daring them to best it on this night.

After it felt as if they had crossed the Maw and not a mere stretch of land between the outskirts of civilization and the Domicile, the heat of the ejecting exhaust pod warmed them inside the speeder. There was no fiery end by means of ion cannons or any other violence visited. In fact, their presence did not appear noticed at all. Considering what was taking place in the skies above, they supposed it was understandable they should broach the most heavily fortified prison on Coruscant without anyone being the wiser of it.

"Can they see us?" Casey asked quietly as the others climbed out of the speeder and unloaded their equipment in the dark, almost shadowy in their substance.

"No," Inez shook her head, staying close to the young woman because she could sense her anxiousness, not because she was frightened of what they would be facing but because she was terrified of letting them down. "We picked this particular exhaust port because it’s a blind spot, the sentries can’t see us."

"Oh," Casey swallowed, looking nervously at the walls of the tower. She could not see the batteries Inez or Alex had referred to but she had no doubt that they were there.

The Domicile had looked sinister from a distance but up close it was even worse. The walls were a smooth black surface that was almost seamless. Casey could see nothing that might be a door or a window or any signs of life emanating from the structure. She would have almost thought it to be carved out of stone if not for the fact she knew it was not and within its seemingly impenetrable walls was Mary Travis, awaiting them to rescue her. There was only one manner of entry through the smooth finished walls and that was the exhaust port that vented heat and plasma at regular intervals. There was no need for added security measures since the purpose of the openings provided all the protection it needed to keep intruders from attempting to use it as a means of entry.

Chris Larabee stared at the gust of plasma escaping the ports and dissipated into the night air. Even though they were standing well out of its way, the intense heat warmed their skins in the expulsion. A pause followed the latest expulsion of heat and Chris took especial note of the time. Alex was correct, it was the only way in but there was no margin for error and as much as he liked to credit Alex and those with them who were not Jedi born, he could not. They would not be able to traverse the distance in time to escape the next blast of plasma. The Jedi knew it without having to say a word to each other.

"Its time to let the yslamiri go," Ben turned to Alex and announced.

"Now?" She stared at them. "I thought you wanted to keep them with you?"

"No," the Jedi Master and one time general shook his head in response. "Let them go Vin."

Vin understood Ben’s reasoning and did as he was told because he guessed what Ben intended after having seen the exhaust ports and calculating speed in which they would need to travel in order to escape the plasma ventilation in time. Without giving the request a second thought, he went to the cage still in the speeder and removed it from the rear  ompartment where it was situated. Lowering the cage to the ground, the yslamiri within scurried around frantically at the sudden movement, their noses twitching and sniffing the new air with trepidation. Despite their danger to him, Vin could not dislike the creatures and hoped they would fare well once he set them free. Lifting the cage door, he watched the creatures cautiously approach the new opening. It did not take them long to discover that it was a way out and the first of the yslamiri to pass through the passageway bolted forward, leaving the cage far behind it as it attempted to put as much distance between itself and its captors.

With its departure, the others followed suit, their dark ermine forms racing away from them until they disappeared into the darkness. Vin could no longer chart their progress once they were beyond the illumination of the exhaust ports but he definitely knew they were some distance away because suddenly he was flooded with all kinds of sensations. It was as if he had been asleep and upon awakening was overcome by a deluge of sensory data. He staggered a bit at the onrush of feeling and felt the world spinning before his eyes until a strong hand gripped his arm to steady him.

"Vin are you alright?" Alex asked, her voice laced with tension.

"Yeah," Vin nodded. "I’m fine." He said after a moment when the spinning stopped. He looked at Chris and Ben behind him and saw that the two Jedi were experiencing the same disorientation. Once the yslamiri drew further away them, they were able to overcome the feeling. Vin wondered if the yslamiri found it just as disconcerting to be around the Jedi as they were of the furry creatures.

"Okay," Chris sucked in his breath. "Me and Ben will enter the exhausts. We’ll disable it and make it safe for the rest of you."

"That’s not what we planned." Alex blurted out, never comfortable with anyone risking his or her life for her.

"I agree," Josiah retorted in complete agreement with the commander.

"Look I don’t have time to debate this with you," Chris said abruptly in the manner only Chris Larabee was capable. "Ben and I stand a better chance of making it through than any of you. The Force gives us an edge. Once we get to the other side, we can find some way of disabling the system. We have to think of what’s best for the mission."

"He’s right," Vin added his voice to Chris’s in order to convince Alex whose frown was evident. "Except for one thing." He met his master’s gaze.

Chris looked up just in time for Vin to explain.

"I’m going," the young apprentice stated firmly with a firmness to his voice that would tolerate no argument in the matter. "You’re still recovering from getting shot. Of all of you, I’m the one with the best chance at this so I’m going. You know I’m right."

"I’m afraid I do," Chris frowned, wanting to protest but being unable to do so because it was the truth. It was no different than convincing Alex to let him and Ben go instead of the entire group. As much as he hated to admit it, Chris was forced to adhere to his own rhetoric that the mission required things progress this way and it was far more important than their personal desires.

"Are you sure about this?" Rayne asked, glancing apprehensively at the exhaust port which seemed even more ominous than before now they were upon it.

"No," Vin shook his head. "Only one way to find out."

"That does not fill me with a lot of confidence," Alex met his eyes and tried to hide her fear at his doing this but it was no different than all of them undertaking the same task. Only this way, it had more of a chance of saving their lives then all of them making the attempt and failing.

"I’ll be okay," he offered her a smile of confidence.

"You’ve studied the layout right?" Inez asked as he and Ben moved towards the port.

"As much as we need to," Ben replied and gazed at Vin.

The two Jedi approached the port on either side of the wall under the anxious gazes of their companions. Chris felt his stomach knot seeing Vin taking his place even though the younger man was correct about his condition. Even though Chris was well enough to take part in this mission, he could not deny he was less than completely healed from the injuries sustained at Siraj. He could sense Alex’s fear as well, mostly because she was unaccustomed to taking a back seat and allowing someone else to place themselves at risk for her.

A blast of heat shot out of the ports, driving the others back a little even though the flames did not reach them. However the instant they retreated back into the port, Vin and Ben jumped into the dark passage and started running. Their movements were fluid as they moved through the darkened chamber still sizzling with heat and ash. Their Jedi training allowed them to cover the space in half the time it would have taken the others to manage the feat and as they followed the length of the steel shaft, they could feel time pressing against them. It felt like almost an eternity and Vin expected seeing a surge of fire coming to engulf them as they moved deeper into the tunnel.

They were almost to the end when they sighted the venting system that would pour streams of hot plasma into the passageway with them. Reaching for their light sabre in almost perfect synchronicity, the two Jedi brought down the blades on the control panels that tore through the metal plating and conduits. Sparks flew in all directions as they penetrated the outer casing and promptly cut the mechanism to pieces. The flue that kept the plasma from discharging collapsed into an uncomfortable blockage that would not doubt cause troubles throughout the rest of the system. Heaving in protest, Vin and Ben dropped to the grimy floor as the smoke and plasma discharged over their heads. Of course the intensity of it was nothing like what it had been when the exhaust port was fully operational and what they had experienced was the last gasp of a strangled voice.

"I think that did it," Vin stood up gingerly, soot and dirt covering his dark clothes.

"I would say so," Ben agreed, glad they crossed their first hurdle. There would be more to come before the day ended he was sure.

"Come on," Vin was already walking back. "We’ve got to get the others."

* * *

Distraction or not, once they made their invasive entry through the exhaust ports, all stations were alerted to their presence. The Jedi could feel the danger pressing in on their senses as the group hurried out of the sanitation and refuse sector of the prison in which they entered after escaping the exhaust ports. Across the facility, klaxons began screaming intruder alert. While this was never a good sign, it was assumed the prison would be unlikely to gain any reinforcements beyond its walls since those resources would be required to quell the widespread panic sweeping across Coruscant in the wake of the battle above. Unfortunately this did not mean there wasn't an already formidable force of Imperial troops in the facility.

"We have to get out of here," Chris declared as they reached a junction in the network of corridors running through that section of the prison. 

"According to the layout, there should be a terminal around here somewhere," Inez replied as she studied the schematic in her hand.

"I’m there!" Casey called out enthusiastically as she produced a portable terminal to interface the more permanent one she located on one of the walls.

"Plug in," Chris instructed. "You should have access to the entire Imperial network."

"How many ways are there out of here?" Vin turned to Inez. Alex and the others scattered in all directions, making certain that for the moment, the passages were clear of Imperial troops coming for them.

"There’s the main access way," Inez studied what was before her on the small data pad. "However, I would suggest we take the maintenance tunnel running along this section of the sewerage disposal." She remarked, tracing her finger across the screen. "It won’t smell good but its wide enough for Tula to fit so we should be alright."

"Good idea," Ben agreed, looking over her shoulder. "They will be sealing off the main exits soon enough."

"And moving Mary." Chris added from where he was standing next to Casey.

"I’m in!" The young announced as the screen flashed the technical schematic of the entire facility. Her response drew the others to her immediately.

"Try and find Mary." Chris said immediately, his thoughts focused on nothing else at the moment. He could feel Mary inside him and he knew she was close. She was still alive as far as he could tell but her lack of response to his presence in her mind was cause for grave concern. Previously their link was something that sustained them both, a connection allowing each other to endure despite whatever was happening to them in the real world. Now the connection was thready and weak. He could feel her exhaustion and the dwindling strength of her resolve. She was almost finished and he could feel her mind starting to cast off the bonds keeping her alive and Chris was suddenly faced with the possibility if he did not find her soon, there would be nothing left of her to rescue.

"She’s in maximum security," Casey announced a second later which was a surprise to no one.

"Well that makes sense," Vin replied. "What’s the point in moving her? She’s in the most secure place there is already. There’s no way in or out of there other than the main entry point and I doubt they’re going to make it easy for us."

"It would not be fun any other way Senor," Inez replied, winking at him with mischief. Vin was starting to note the former Ground Pounder had an odd sense of humour he could relate to and supposed one needed that to have been married to Buck Wilmington.

"We may have to find an alternate way in." Ben pointed out.

"Exactly how would we do that?" Vin looked at him sceptically, "there’s only way into a detention center, especially a maximum security one."

"We will find a way," Ben said enigmatically before turning to Casey. "What’s directly under maximum security?"

Casey turned back to the screen to access that information before she stared at them. "According to this, interrogation room."

"Interrogation room?" Chris retorted.

"Yes," the young woman nodded as if saying the word left a bad taste in her mouth.

Chris turned back to the others and exchanged glances with all of them. The same thought undoubtedly crossed their minds before Vin spoke. "They would never expect it."

"That's for sure," Inez agreed.

Chris was about to respond when they heard footsteps running quickly down the hall. When Inez raised her gun, Ben quickly placed his hand on her shoulder, shaking his head slowly as an indication that whomever was coming towards them was no enemy. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Alex turned up the corner.

"We better get moving," she ordered sharply. "There’s a whole bunch of storm troopers coming into this sector."

"We’ve got an alternate plan out of this place," Chris retorted. "Inez," he gestured at her to explain.

"We can get out of here through an access tunnel," she replied quickly as instructed. "Its big enough for Tula so the rest of us should make it out easily enough."

"Okay," Alex agreed with that plan. "We’ll go back up the way I came and get the others."

Once Casey terminated her interface with the Imperial terminal, the rebels quickly hurried down the corridor before regrouping with the rest of their number. The main exit out of the area seemed clear for the moment but the Jedi could sense the approach of danger even though they could not see it and decided that Inez and Vin’s idea for an alternate exit from the maintenance sector was sound. It took little more than a series of twists and turns before they arrived at the first access way connecting to the maintenance tunnel. Tula growled in protest, her keen senses being able to smell what was on the other side of the wall of the tunnel they would soon be travelling. Although the stench was rather powerful, it was fortunately tolerable, particularly when they forced themselves into the metal passageway within the walls.

"There must be some cosmic law that says I’m always having to get into these tunnels," Chris grumbled as he scrambled inside.

"What?" Vin asked as the apprentice climbed in after him. The smell immediately made Vin’s nose wrinkle and suddenly he wished he had picked some other way to move out of this section.

"Nothing," Chris shrugged. "Alternate existence creeping up on me."

Vin did not even bother to ask what  _that_ meant.

Ben chuckled at the banter of the two friends when suddenly, his entire body was suffused with an icy cold feeling that ran up his spine and pierced his heart. He stopped short, as he was about to climb in, drawing Josiah’s immediate concern.

"Ben?" Josiah called out.

The Jedi Master did not speak. Chris started to crane his neck to ask Ben if everything was all right when he felt the same sensation of cold trickle through him as well. Vin let out an audible shudder in reaction, having less control than either of them.

"What the hell is it?" Alex burst out, nothing the tension that surged through the air, so thick it was making it hard for anyone to breathe. "What’s wrong?" 

Ben sucked in his breath and stared at her. "Its Vader," he said quietly.

"Vader?" Colour drained from Rayne’s face next to her.

"What about him?" Alex was almost afraid to ask but unfortunately, she had to even though she knew what the Jedi Master was going to say.

"He’s here," Ben met her eyes directly. "Vader is here."


	13. Separations

Vader had arrived on Coruscant shortly after the defence grid was disabled.

While his first instinct was to proceed to the Imperial residence, he sensed something that immediately altered his course and had his shuttle changing trajectory towards the Domicile instead. Coupled with a sense of the battle he was going to fight was the astonishment that such a thing could be. What was Obi-Wan thinking coming to Coruscant? The familiar tremor of the Force upon his senses told him only the presence of his old master could cause such unrest within him. He had searched so long for Obi Wan Kenobi, following every lead and attempting to exploit, meeting only disappointment, Vader could scarcely believe he was finally a shuttle trip away from his nemesis.

As the shuttle flew through the heart of the Imperial city, to the dismal surroundings of the Domicile’s location, Vader could sense the fear running rife throughout the populace. Coruscant had always felt impregnable, not merely in a physical sense but also in the state of mind of everyone who lived here. The rebel attack had shaken that confidence to its very foundation and Vader knew after this, the Emperor’s determination to wipe them out would be merciless. In the space above the planet, a fierce battle was taking place and judging by the deaths cries he could sense from up above, it was obvious the Imperial forces were taking a beating.

Without doubt, he knew Ezra Standish was leading this fight because he had foreseen it. The vision about the man unfolded in full, lurid detail as Coruscant’s skies became radiant with fire. Debris from ruined Star Destroyers rained down on the planet like a meteor shower, causing wide spread destruction. Forces that would have been able to deal with what was happening at the Domicile were being diverted to handle the chaos that ignited as a result of it. Even now, he was unable to raise the Domicile as he was made his approach. However, considering the efforts to combat the complete failure of the planetary network, it was likely their self-contained system had severed all links to the outer systems to keep from being affected by the same malaise.

Another explosion overhead caused the dark lord to pick up his rear scanner and he saw another ship making a fiery return to Coruscant. The high yield mass destructive devices Ezra Standish had armed his bogus fleet was doing an impressive job of cutting its way through the superior Imperial forces. Vader could not help but admire Ezra for the devising the strategy that saw the complete and utter defeat of the Imperial fleet in the skies above. Even now, the _Executor_ and ships stationed in other systems were returning to Coruscant at maximum speed, hoping to keep engage the rebel fleet before more destruction was visited upon the home world. Unfortunately, he guessed they would be too late home to capture the commander who had proven himself almost as much a danger to Imperial morale as the one he had so obviously come to rescue.

Upon nearing the Domicile, Vader began to sense more than just one Jedi. He could sense three as a matter of fact. Ben Kenobi had not come to Coruscant alone; he had come with Vin Tanner and Chris Larabee. That did offer Vader some measure of pause because he was not entirely sure he could deal with three Jedi on his own. No doubt the Jedi would not be alone even if they did compose a powerful triumvirate. An expedition to rescue Mary Travis would require expertise beyond the ability of the Jedi. The lowering of the planetary defence grid was case in point. When this was all over, there would be considerable study made of how an intruder was able to leave Coruscant wide open for attack. No doubt, the engineer who had made this possible would be much sought after.

He hoped Julia Pemberton had the situation on hand. As one of the Emperor’s hands, her power in the Domicile during this crisis situation was considerable. She was a direct representative of the Emperor and she would be able to supersede any order given in the place. He found her to be adequate as far as such tools are concern. Vader suspected she was nowhere as strong as she thought she was and her secret desires for Ezra Standish made her vulnerable, not to mention exploitable. In the end, she might be far more useful in bringing Ezra to the Emperor than she could possibly imagine though not in the manner in which she might suspect.

The shuttle soared towards the landing pads situated on the high peaks of the Domicile, giving an even more fearsome view of the crashing waves in the rocks below. He had come alone, having more experience than most pilots he might have enlisted for the duty of piloting him to the Domicile. With more deftness than should have been permissible through the thick armour he wore around himself, Vader brought the craft to a swift landing on the tarmac. The Domicile was still powered, indicating it had not been effected by the debilitating failures plaguing the rest of Coruscant.

He could sense Ben even more clearly now and he could tell the Jedi was aware of him as well. He wondered if he ought to wait and let Ben come to him but he knew that would not do. There could be no allowing the Jedi Master to escape, not even at the cost of Mary Travis because of the two, he knew who was most important to him and to the Emperor. The Emperor wanted his son almost as much as Vader himself though not for entirely the same reasons. Whether or not the Emperor knew this was something Vader did not allow himself to think about because to keep the thought in his mind was to allow Palpatine access to it and so he focussed himself on merely finding the child, not about what would happen when he did.

Before any of that could happen, he would face the only man who stood between him and his son.

* * *

_He was here._

There was no doubt about it as they clambered up the tunnel leading out of the sanitation section of the Domicile. Even as they moved swiftly through the dark and musty passage reeking of waste matter and other unmentionables, the Jedi could feel the Sith Lord’s presence stinking their insides more prolifically than anything the slime and refuse around them could manage. They moved quickly through the darkness despite this, knowing time was their greatest enemy, even more so than the Imperial forces hunting them right this minute. The longer it took to reach Mary, the more risk they faced at their rescue failing.

The journey through the maintenance shafts was strenuous with all their attention focussed on moving through it as quickly as possible. Inez provided instructions on which dark twist and turn to take and after awhile it seemed as if they were crawling through the ductwork for an eternity. In the meantime, they could hear the faint sound of footsteps beyond the walls as Imperial troops went about the business of attempting to locate the intruders. So far their method of sneaking towards their destination had not been discovered but this could not last indefinitely for the Imperials had the access to the same information as Inez and they would learn soon enough how many possible ways there were in and out of the sanitation section.

If not Vader would lead them straight to the rebels.

"We need to split up," Ben declared as they read an intersection in the catacomb like ductwork in which they were travelling.

"Absolutely not," Alex answered from further down the passage. The sound carried and she was quite capable of hearing the suggestion even though Ben had not meant the others to hear it.

However on this point even Chris had to agree even though he knew that the Jedi sometimes had to walk alone. "Ben, she’s right," Chris retorted. "We’re safer if we stick together.’

"No we’re not and you know it," Ben returned swiftly. "Vader will know exactly where we are if we do not split up. I have to face him."

"Look," Alex quickly interjected, "we’re not talking about this okay? Its going to be hard enough reaching Mary without you Jedi going on some personal crusade."

"This is nothing to do with a crusade," the Jedi master responded, his calm voice a contrast to her excited tone. "This has to be done."

"Alex, Chris, " Vin added his voice to the mix. "Vader will find us unless we split up. You both know it."

"How can he find us?" Casey asked fearfully. "He doesn’t know we’re here!"

"He can find us the same way Ben knew he was here," Josiah explained, his voice heavy with grim understanding that Ben was right about his statement even though it pained him to admit it.

"I have to go face him," Ben repeated himself. "I have to go alone."

"Well that I won’t agree to," Vin quickly spoke up. "You go on your own and you’ll get yourself killed and we all know how important it is you survive."

"Precisely General," Rayne spoke up. "A great deal depends on your survival."

Ben swallowed as he heard his counterpart’s statement. Rayne understood better than anyone the responsibility that was his to carry. She knew because she carried the same burden in her guardianship of Leia Organa, Luke’s twin sister, whose existence was the biggest secret in the galaxy. Vader knew he had a son but he had no knowledge that the child he sought so desperately was one half of twins. Thus Leia was safe as long as she remained unknown to him.

"I am not forgetting my responsibilities," he said somewhat perturbed. "I know them better than you think. However if it is my destiny to face him and die, then that is how it should be."

"Then I’m going with you." Vin stated.

"Have you all lost your minds!" Alex burst out. "Vin, you can’t."

"I can and I will," he said firmly. They paused in the junction and were discussing this face to face as much was possible in such cramped and confined quarters. "We have a better chance of beating him if we’re together."

"Vin I can’t let you do this," Chris stared at the apprentice in the dark confines of the duct.

"You have to let me do this Chris," Vin returned. "You have to let me because while Ben and I are dealing with Vader, you have to go get Mary."

"Vin this is crazy," Alex stammered. "He almost killed you once." Her heart was knotting in fear at the prospect he might actually do this. She remembered how he looked after his first encounter with the dark lord. She had almost lost him to Vader and now he was contemplating of doing it again?

"Alex I have to," Vin said meeting her gaze. "I can’t be a Jedi if I let my fear get the better of me. Now I always knew I’d have to face him again and this time I’m pretty lucky," he glanced at Ben. "I got someone with me."

"We cannot debate this too long," Inez pointed out, amidst all this talk. Her concerns were not with fear or facing up to personal demons. She was concerned about the mission and her single mindedness reminded them there was precious time to waste.

"I’m going Chris," Vin said firmly looking at all those who had voiced against it. "Inez has got the right idea, we don’t have time to argue this but Ben and I need to go now, before Vader gives them any more of a clue where we are."

Chris sucked in his breath and held the younger man’s eyes for awhile, not at all liking this but knowing Vin was being more sensible than he. If he still was not recovering from his injuries, if it was not necessary for one Jedi to remain with the rescue team, he would never have let the younger man do what he was about to. Unfortunately, circumstances did not allow for that desire. He loved Mary and he could not face Vader with his concentration focussed on her safety. It was a sure way of getting him and Ben killed, so it was going to have to be Vin.

"Alright," Chris conceded, hating the whole idea but realizing there was no other choice. "You and Ben go deal with Vader. Ben," he shifted his eyes towards the Jedi Master. "I’m counting on you to look out for my apprentice and also for both of you to just keep him busy, not _defeat_ him."

"You have my promise," Ben replied earnestly and Chris believed him.

"Vin," Alex pushed her way forward and found herself next to him. "Please don’t do this." She was pleading with him and she knew it but the thought of him leaving to face Vader terrified her more than the fact she was leading an assault again an impenetrable Imperial fortress.

"Alex this is what I am," Vin said softly, his hand on her cheek as he stared into her frightened eyes and tried to make her understand. "If I’m gonna be a Jedi, I have to face what scares us both or else I’m no good to anyone."

"Damn you," she whispered softly. "Damn you for doing this and damn me for letting you."

Vin smiled, knowing her heart even if it was afraid for him. "I love you." 

"I love you too," she sighed. "Even if you are a dope and as usual your timing is impeccable. You’re the only man I know who would say this to woman when they’re in the middle of enemy territory, about to get killed."

"Can you think of a better time?" He winked at her.

"Unfortunately no," Alex shook her head and their lips met in a soft kiss. "You watch your ass, you hear me?"

"I always do," he grinned.

Unfortunately, Alex did not believe him.

* * *

As soon as they came to an access point, Ben and Vin climbed out of the duct and allowed the rest to continue on the way. Even though Chris recognized the departure of the two Jedi was necessary, he like Alex, had deep reservations about splitting up. Separated they were weaker, no matter what the reasoning. However, Ben was right about one point; Vader would find them easily if they did not go in opposite directions. Chris could not help being torn by his responsibilities as a Jedi and his love for Mary.

While the Jedi Council had never outright banned its Jedi from marriage, there was no doubt it was an unhealthy practice. Until he had lost Sarah, he had not understood why. Though his marriage was frowned up generally, Chris loved her too much to care and supposed it was why he was never considered Council material. His loyalties were split 09qahis love for his family compromised his judgement.

They emerged from the ductwork into an empty corridor. The interrogation section of the prison was not considered a high priority area, particularly when the bulk of the Imperial storm troopers were either converging upon their last known location in the sanitation area or guarding the detention block where Mary was surely held. Inez immediately began studying the data pad in her hand in order to ascertain where they would go next. The corridor was quiet but the section they were in was an area of high traffic and it would not take them long to be discovered.

"Where are we going?" Chris asked. He could feel Mary was really close but where she was exactly eluded him.

"Three doors down," Inez said quickly as she started hurrying down the corridor. With one hand secured around her gun, she did not look up as she allowed the information on the data pad guide them to where they needed to go. "According to Casey’s interface with the network, there should be a Interogation room directly under Mary’s cell."

"I hope its empty," Josiah retorted as he and Chris led the charge. Alex was keeping Casey close to her while Rayne and Tula protected their rear.

"It won’t matter," Chris replied and punctuated that statement with the sudden ignition of his light sabre. The beam of energy extended upward elegantly, humming softly in time with Chris’ movements. "It will be emptied once we get there."

The door in question appeared exactly where Inez said it would be and Chris motioned the others to stand their ground as he and the former Republic senator took up flanking positions on either side of the door. Alex stepped forward once they had done that and pushed the button activating the door panel. With a slid thud, the mechanism began to shift into place and the heavy metal doors began to pause. Chris gave Josiah a quick gesture to let him enter first, since he was more capable of evading enemy fire if there was danger in the room. Stepping out into the doorway, his sabre brandished and ready to fend off any attack, Chris discovered to his relief the room was quite empty indeed.

Stepping inside quickly, he was soon followed by the others. The room was indeed empty but unlike a chamber of horrors which was one was inevitably conditioned to expect when confronted by a room such as this, it appeared very benign. Other than a collection of bright lamps overhead and a chair in the centre of the floor, there was nothing else to indicate what the room might have been employed for. There were none of the infamous torture devices the Empire was meant to use on its prisoners, no cruel devices to maim or kill, just that one chair and yet Chris could tell this place had caused much pain. He could feel it in the walls, smearled like grease in the paint. Chris could feel the dark side of the Force frozen against every surface of the room, allowing it evil to penetrate the flesh of those who entered.

This was a place of agony.

"Lock it," he heard Josiah telling Rayne who was the last one into the room.

Chris however was no longer paying attention to his companions because his gaze shifted towards the ceiling. Through the mire of misery he could feel radiating from his room, he could feel something else. Something as equally strong now he was in close proximity. He could feel Mary. She was directly above them. He could feel her heart pounding, could feel her despair and her agony, he could feel her mind starting to slip away, clinging to him now that she could sense him with the barest threads of endurance. However, he also knew something else. Something, which filled him so much fear, he would have clawed through the barrier between them with his bare hands if he had to.

"She’s dying." Chris mused.

Alex’s eyes widened and met his immediately. "What?"

"She’s dying," he repeated and then swept his gaze at all of them. "Stand back!" 

They stepped away from him as he climbed onto of the chair and held the sabre against the ceiling. The energy beam did its works almost instantaneously, cutting through the metal and fibres overhead. The room began to fill with smoke, as the blade slid through the barrier, leaving an uneven trail of burnt metal behind it. The heat from the sabre melted the metal and conduits. Trickles of liquid steel began dribbling to the floor with Chris managing something of a balancing act as he avoided being scalded.

"Get ready," Alex spoke out loud to no one in particular. "If they don’t know we’re here yet, they soon will."

Tula growled in response to that statement followed by Inez’s translation. "She says she’ll smell them coming."

Alex did not answer; instead she turned her attention back to Chris who was cutting himself a decent sized hole in the ceiling. The more he progressed, the more the section of metal he cut began to slant towards the floor, the more and more its unsupported weight widened the crack. Chris continued to slice through the ceiling and the floor of Mary’s enclosure. Beads of sweat formed on his skin from the heat as the sabre liquefied the metal.

"Stand back," he ordered again.

His warning came just as the section of ceiling/floor gave way and came tumbling to the ground, dragging with it pieces of conduit, wiring and other materials as ancient as the Domicile’s age. The section shattered against the floor, spreading debris across the room in all directions, not to mention a cloud of dust composed of stone and other fine particles. Once the dust cleared so to speak, the rebels found themselves standing beneath a decent size opening to the room overhead. Deactivating his light sabre, Chris replaced the weapon on his belt and glanced at his companions long enough for them to ascertain what he was about to do next. Alex nodded, prompting him to get on with it. The sooner anyone of them could reach Mary, the better.

Chris leapt upwards in a smooth deliberate launch, spinning in mid air as he passed through the fissure before landing on his feet within the room above. Upon landing, he reached for his light sabre and activated it, poised for attack if case of danger. It took less than a second to realize there was no threat to him even though he was no not alone. Casey was correct about where they needed to go in order to reach Mary and as his eyes scanned the room for the visual confirmation his Jedi senses already had, he shuddered inwardly at the dark walls and the clinical atmosphere of the place that had been Mary’s cell since she returned to Coruscant.

He saw her a millisecond later.

Mary was lying on her bunk, oblivious to his arrival. His heart was pounding as he approached her and saw the bruises on her face and body. He knew she had been tortured but seeing her bedraggled and broken provoked his utmost fury at those who did this to her. No doubt assuming a dermal regenerator would erase the bruises when it came time for her to have her day in their bogus court. As he found himself standing over her, he saw her swollen lips, the discoloration along her jaw and the dark purplish swirl around her eyes. She had been beaten to an inch of her life and the wounds he could not see, the ones beneath the skin, were slowly killing her. He knew the practice well enough even though it disgusted him to no end. To reduce a prisoner to this, to force the threat of a slow and agonizing death upon them in the hopes the dying would force them to beg for help, was typical of the Empire. They knew capitulation would ensuire their spirit be broken once and for all.

If it was not for their connection, Chris knew Mary would have succumbed. She had put up a brave fight but she was not invulnerable and as he stared at his Mary, remembering her as the proud and determined woman who had awakened his heart from its mourning so many months ago, it ached beyond belief to see her in this way. Chris felt the fury bubbling within him, demanding expression but he crushed into nothingness because he needed his senses to help her. He could not let the dark side coil its dark tendrils around him when Mary needed him.

"Mary," Chris whispered softly in her ear as he lowered himself to her bunk to sweep her into his arms.

She did not answer but he could tell she sensed his presence and was starting to surface from the dark place she was in.

"Mary, its Chris." He spoke again, feeling his heart grow heavier each time he saw the terrible bruises on her face. He could not understand why the Empire had suddenly changed its tactic of torturing her body instead of her mind.

Probably because her body was easier to break, he thought bitterly.

"Mary can you hear me?" He called again, lifting her gently from the bed feeling his insides clenched when she whimpered in pain.

He paused a moment attempting to decide what was the best way out of this room. He did not like trying to get through the hole he had made in the floor, not when she was in this condition and going out the door was much too dangerous. He supposed he would have to settle for the former since it was the safer of the two options and he did not necessarily have to carry her to lower her down through the fissure. Chris was considering all this when suddenly he felt her shift in his arms.

"Chris." Her eyes fluttered open and tried to focus on him.

"I’m here," he said quickly, feeling a swell of relief to the depths of his soul at hearing her say his name through her swollen lips.

"I thought I was dreaming," she whispered, tears glistening in her eyes as she looked at him. "I thought I dreamt you inside my head."

"I’m here Mary," Chris smiled, his voice choking with emotion. All he wanted to do at this moment was hold her and never let her go. She was in so much pain and it cut through him like a knife he could not take any of it away.

"I’m sorry Chris," she whimpered, more tears running down her cheeks. "I’m sorry I hurt you. I thought I was doing right, I thought I was saving you. I know I was wrong. I was terrified of losing you that I never imagined you could feel the same way about me."

"Mary, you did what you had to," Chris reassured her as he neared the hole in the floor. "I know you never meant to hurt me but right now, you need to rest. We’re getting out of here."

Mary was still too wrapped in pain and delirium to really register what he was saying. It was enough she could feel his arms around her. "I love you Chris," she muttered. "I love you so much. I thought if you were dead, I’d die too. I just couldn’t let them hurt you...."

"I’ve got her!" Chris shouted to the others below.

There was no answer for a few seconds and Chris felt something he had not noticed before because he had been so focussed on retrieving Mary.

"That’s good Jedi," Julia Pemberton’s face appeared through the fissure staring up at him. "Because I have _them_."


	14. The Rise of the Jedi

Somehow Chris was not surprised when he heard Julia’s voice coming from the room below.

So far reaching Mary had been too easy and it was inevitable they would face the Imperial eventually. What did surprise him was what he sensed from his adversary below. He had not detected her presence. Although she was not capable of creating a null field around herself like the yslamiri, she was able to guard her thoughts and her emotions so a Jedi would not sense her unless he was seeking her out specifically. Only those who were trained in the Jedi arts had that kind of skill and while he could sense she had some measure of skill, the Force was not strong in her and thus she could not possibly be a Jedi.

For a second after she had spoken, he debated what to do and knew if he did not show himself, those below were condemned to die. Undoubtedly the woman below was not alone for she could not have overcome Alex and the others without a sizeable contingent of storm troopers. Even as he thought that, he could feel their life force emanating through the floor and roughly estimated how many of them he had to face when he lowered himself. He could also sense his friends, their emotions ran hot and were easy to detect. He sensed mostly anger from Alex at being caught when they were so close to their goal. Her emotions radiated from inside her like a beacon and Chris decided he could use that rage to extricate themselves from their current predicament.

"We are waiting Jedi." Julia Pemberton’s voice demanded again. "Do not make this any worse for your friends then it already is."

Chris did not answer and chose instead to lower Mary to the floor. He was not taking her into battle, not for anything. Fortunately, she had slipped back into her unconscious state and was oblivious to their situation. Upon setting her down, Chris focused on Alex, using her strong emotions to ride straight into her mind. Her deep connection with Vin allowed Chris the access to her thoughts and as he imposed himself upon her, gave Alex a swift order and hoped she had received it. Particularly when he made his confrontation with Julia Pemberton. Resting his hand on his light sabre, Chris took a step to the fissure and spoke out.

"I’m coming down." He announced assuming they would step back to allow him room to land.

"Very sensible," Julia answered and he agreed with Ezra’s description that the woman was easy to detest.

Stepping to the edge, he looked down to see the space beneath him clear. Chris sucked in his breath and concentrated hard, sending Alex that silent warning as he jumped.

* * *

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Alex shouted as she dropped to the floor of the interrogation room.

No sooner than she cried out, the rest of the rebels did the same, confusing the Imperial storm troopers whose guns were aimed at them as they lowered themselves to the floor. The distraction was all Chris needed to do to land on the floor and activate his light sabre unimpeded. The instant the blue beam of light extended forward, all guns took aim at him and Julia was shouting at them to shoot. Alex who was standing next to the woman and saw her about to shoot when she kicked out her foot and connected with Julia’s knee. The Imperial agent let out a small cry as she fell down and Alex rolled on to her hands and knees, scrambling forward to intercept her before Julia could train the gun on her.

The rapid discharge of weapons fire from the Imperial troops was met with the lightning fast reflexes of the Jedi Knight, who deflected the bolts of energy with ease. Thanks to the chaos he was causing, the other members of his group were taking advantage of the distraction and were retrieving their weapons. Josiah was taking aim and firing, giving Chris some respite from the barrage of fire coming at him. He downed the storm trooper nearest to him and another reloading a power pack into his exhausted blaster. The storm trooper was struck sideways and he flew in that direction towards another firing at Chris.

With the opening he was given, Chris used one hand to deflect the bolts of energy off his light sabre while waving the other at the storm troopers in his flank, sending them flying through the air before making an unceremonious meeting with the nearby wall. Bones crunched as they impacted, their guns falling from their hands, as they were rendered unconscious or too injured to pose much of a threat. As he did so, he saw the more troops approaching the open door of the interrogation room and leapt into the air as another bolt of energy came flying at him that was not possible to be deflected by his light sabre. He spun in mid air before landing safely out of its reach.

Tula stood up abruptly during the shooting, her enormous bulk immediately drawing the attention of the storm trooper closest to her. The trooper turn around to fire but was instead swept aside easily with a massive arm that threw him against the floor with a good deal of force. Inez who was nearby, lunged for his gun and rolled onto her knees, just in time to deliver a blast of energy. He slumped to the floor face down without further protest. In the meantime, the Wookie had reached her crossbow and the thunderous roar filled the air a fraction of a second before the discharge from the barrel of the gun. With her fire added to Josiah’s, she forced back the Imperial storm troopers converging at the door to the room.

Rayne did not move from where she was. She remained in place with one arm slung over Casey, ensuring the young woman did not get into any difficulty during all the shooting. She trusted her companions to fend off the attackers at present even though she had retrieved her gun and was keeping it tight in her grasp. When she saw one of the storm troopers at the door aiming for Josiah, she dispatched it easily but for most part, kept her presence close to Casey who was no doubt terrified with the violence and was ill equipped to defend herself. Rayne saw Josiah glancing anxiously in their direction, offering her an expression of gratitude for protecting his niece.

Alex saw Julia’s face fill with rage as she landed on the floor after Alex’s well-placed kick had sent her there. She tried to aim as she struggle to sit up but Alex was too quick for her and threw out her fist before Julia had a change to pull target her. The gun flew from the Imperial agent’s hand, skittering across the steel floor although the noise was drowned in the cacophony of blaster fire exploding around their ears. Without giving her time to react to the loss of her weapon, Alex swung again and sent Julia back to the floor. However, the Imperial was by no means incapacitated by the blow and struck out her foot in reflex, connecting with Alex’s shoulder. The rebel operative recovered enough to see another strike coming at her and caught Julia’s foot swiftly and bringing down her elbow on the crook of her knee. Julia uttered a cry of pain as Alex scrambled on top of her and threw another fist into her face, this time knocking her out cold.

"Bitch." Alex swore under her breath and looked up to see the rest of the storm troopers in the room lying about in a similar or worse state than their leader, Julia Pemberton.

"Everyone okay?" She asked quickly as she saw Inez and Tula taking position by the door in preparation for the arrival of more troops.

"We’re fine," Rayne replied as she finally got to her feet and helped Casey up as well. The young woman looked still as fearful but relieved.

"Casey?" Josiah immediately came to his niece. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I’m okay Uncle Josiah," she responded putting on a brave face for him.

"Good girl." Josiah smiled, trying to hide his pride at how well she was managing to hold up in the face of her fear.

"Where’s Mary?" Alex stared at Chris.

"Up there," he replied quickly, his own gaze staring up at the fissure from which he had come. He had not liked leaving Mary alone, especially now that the entire prison was aware of where they were. He could feel the tremors in the Force, the ones telling him danger was near and it was coming for all of them. He hoped Vin and Ben were all right and sensed they were. It gave him some measure of comfort but not much. "I had to leave her."

"Well you need to go back up and get her," Alex ordered. "They’re going to bring down the entire prison on us now. We have to leave before any more troops get here."

"Chris! Alex!" Inez called out. "Too late, there’s a whole bunch of them coming our way!" Upon saying that, the ground pounder and the Wookie retreated back into the room.

"Seal the doors!" Josiah ordered.

"That’s not going to hold them for long," Alex pointed out. "We’re trapped." She said grimly, trying to hide the apprehension in her voice as she made that statement.

"No we’re not," Chris shook his head, refusing to believe that for one second. "We’re going up there." He glanced upwards at the ceiling.

"That will lead us into the detention block. Breaking out of there is going to be hell!" She pointed out.

"Not entirely," Josiah came forward, understanding what Chris was alluding to. "Those troops think we’re in here. If we can keep them out of this room at least for a little while, we can make our way out of the detention block while they're trying to get in here."

Alex sucked in her breath because it was a dangerous gamble but she supposed anything was better than waiting for those storm troopers to flood the room and kill them all. Looking over her shoulder, she wasted no time in taking the next course of action once their escape was decided upon. "Inez seal the door!"

Inez nodded without question and immediately aimed her blaster at the door controls and fired upon it. The energy bolt struck the metal surface, causing sparks and flames to spit forth in all directions upon the destruction of its intricate circuitry. The heat of the small explosion ensured that when the smoke had cleared the wiring and components would be fused into a mess of melted steel and fibres. Unless those outside were prepared to cut through the door, which Inez was certain they would eventually, there was no other way they could enter the room.

"You first," Alex looked at Chris. "You get up there and make sure Mary is safe. We’ll be close behind you."

Chris met the woman’s eyes and for a few seconds, acknowledged mutual respect for each other’s ability. Chris could see why Vin loved Alex so much and why Mary considered her such an invaluable friend. He nodded at her slightly and remarked. "Don’t be long, Alex."

"Like I said," she replied with a little smile as Chris leapt upwards into the fissure between the floors. "We’re right behind you."

* * *

Vin viewed Ben’s ability to navigate through the catacombs of the Domicile with no small measure of awe. He thought he knew all there was to know about a stealthy approach but in comparison to Ben, he was a novice. The Jedi Master used more than just stealth to move about unseen. He used the Force. His employment of it to evade the notice of Imperial troops who were searching for them was nothing less than masterly. By inducing little suggestions of shadows and noises whenever they came upon any Imperial, the Jedi Master sent them running in a completely opposite direction from where they ought to be without having the slightest inclination that they were being manipulated.

Vin had seen Chris use the Force in this manner but not to this degree and he marvelled at what a Jedi Master what capable of doing. Despite the burden of his responsibilities to the Skywalker twins, Ben was remarkably in control and at peace. He wondered if it was because the man had attained the level of Master that allowed him such serenity or was it simply the fact once one knew the outcome of one’s future, there was little point worrying about it. Ben seemed extremely at peace considering all the things he had to worry about. So much of the future depended on him and Vin wondered what it was like to live with so much responsibility on one’s shoulder. He was sure he could not manage it.

"He’s close," Ben remarked as they turned a corner that seemed to be taking them up instead of down the prison levels. However, as much as Vin might like to think it was the Force giving them the ability to move through the place unseen, Vin knew it had a great deal to do with the commotion the others were creating in their efforts to rescue Mary Travis.

"I can feel him," Vin answered and shuddered inwardly at the sensation of cold that settled over him like a fog. Vin disliked being anywhere in the presence of the dark lord, especially after how badly their last encounter had ended. However, he knew he would not allow Ben to face Vader alone and he was no longer feared the Sith Lord as he once did. While he would always be wary of Vader, Vin would never let his fear for the man defeat him again.

"He’s waiting for us." Ben stated without doubt.

"Why?" Vin asked. "Why would he just wait for us to come face him? Wouldn’t it be easier to have a dozen storm troopers come get us first?"

"No," Ben shook his head slightly as they reached the end of the corridor and found themselves at a set of lift doors. A flash of light on the dull control panel indicated it would soon reach them. "This is a matter for the Jedi."

"Vader’s hardly a Jedi anymore." Vin pointed out.

"Are you always so filled with questions?" The bearded man looked at him.

"Yeah," Vin retorted. "It’s one of my more charming qualities. Didn’t Chris tell you?" 

"No," Ben chuckled. "It must have slipped his mind."

There was a moment of silence before Vin asked. "What was he like before? When there was still a Jedi Council?"

Ben’s gaze drifted away for a moment as he sought the memory and the words to answer the Jedi’s’ question.

"Happy." He said after a second’s thought. "He was happy. He didn’t care he would never be a member of the Council because of Sarah. I think it was his content with what he had that made him such a fine warrior. He loved her and that was all that mattered to him. When they took her and his son from him, I thought we would lose him, not to death but to the dark side. We convince ourselves that it is not wise to have a family but we all envied him and those who defied the Council to take wives."

"I wonder if my father felt the same way," Vin mused.

"Your father?" Ben looked at him.

"I never knew my father but Chris seems to think he was a Jedi." Vin explained. "Maybe he was ashamed of me and ma. That’s why he never came to take us from Tatooine."

"No Jedi would ever do that," Ben stated firmly and with such total conviction Vin had no choice but to believe him. "If you father was one of us, he would have died before allowing such a thing to happen."

Even as Ben said those words, he could not help as if he knew Vin Tanner from somewhere. The memory was vague and distant. He had some recollection of a face that did not appear too dissimilar from Vin’s but the circumstances eluded him and he knew it was important he remembered. He supposed it would come to him soon enough. For the present, there was more important things to deal with and as the lift started to open, Ben knew one of those things were upon them.

"STEP BACK!" Ben ordered just as the red glow of a light sabre blade came at them came through the opening doors of the lift.

Vin staggered back as Vader emerged when the lift doors had fully parted. The apprentice was at a loss to act as he saw the object of so many of his nightmares appear before him once again. The dark lord was as terrifying as ever in his black armour, flowing cloak and the mask that seemed skull like. His light sabre was ignited and ready for attack, just as it had been when Vin confronted him on Ithor. For a fraction of a second, there was no sound in the corridor except the heavy rasp of his breathing. The three Jedi faced each other slowly and deliberately.

"The Force is with you Vin Tanner. You appear better than you did after our first encounter."

Vin flinched at the sarcasm in his voice but was not about to let the dark lord score any points in a verbal joust. "I bounce back well."

"Not as well as Governor Richmond’s wife." Vader hissed malevolently.

Vin’s anger bubbled to the surface and Ben could sense its intensity about to spill forth in a rash act by the younger man. "No greetings for your old master, Darth?" Ben could not bring himself to call Vader, Anakin. The creature before him was so removed from the friend he loved that it was difficult to associate anything that was Anakin Skywalker to this monstrosity. Inwardly, his heart wept at seeing Vader.

_Oh Anakin, how I failed you._

"I have not forgotten you Obi-Wan," Vader turned his helmeted head towards the Jedi Master, almost as if Vin no longer existed now that Ben had captured his attention. "I thought you were too busy hiding to become involved in the activities of the Rebel Alliance."

"I choose my battles carefully," Ben responded, unhooking his light sabre from his belt. Vin had already done so and his blade gleamed in readiness for combat. Ben attributed it to youthful impatience and anxiousness for this to begin so it could end quickly. "However, I have no wish to live under your master’s yoke."

"You have been hiding!" Vader snapped. "You have been hiding with my son! Where is he?" Vader demanded, opening the battle with a wide swing of his blade, which he intended to bring down on the Jedi Master’s skull.

Vin reacted almost instinctively and blocked the blow, pushing it back hard so Vader stumbled a bit in the retreat and Ben was given to time to ignite his own weapon. The Sith Lord turned sharply to the younger man, determined to rid himself of the nuisance once and for all and launched a vicious attack at Vin, placing a great deal of his strength into a savage offensive that saw him swinging his blade at Vin with all his might. Vin countered the moves, concentrating hard as Ben stepped in to help him because Vader’s strength was considerable. The Jedi Master blocked Vader’s swing at Vin when he saw the young man needing to recoup a little. Ben smashed his blade into Vader’s, forcing the dark Jedi away from Vin.

Vin took a deep breath and looked up to see Ben swinging his blade with expert strikes that showed very much the difference between Master and Apprentice, even if the apprentice was Darth Vader. Vin was not about to let Ben deal with Vader himself though. Despite Ben’s skill, Vader was stronger in the Force and though that might make the two combatants evenly matched, Vin was not about to risk Ben’s life by finding out who would be standing when it was over. Taking advantage of any opening Ben provided while battling Vader, Vin, swung at the dark lord, driving him down the corridor in a relentless series of strikes, until he could sense Vader concentrating singularly on defence rather than being able to take the offensive as he had done earlier.

The battle was fierce with both of them going after Vader with a vengeance. Vin knew the goal was not to kill the Sith Lord but rather to keep his attention away from the rescue of Mary Travis. Storm troopers entering the corridor were soon confronted with the savage duel between the three Jedi. Upon seeing them, Vin withdrew his blade from the battle and allowed Ben to continue his onslaught upon Vader as he turned to deal with the storm troopers who were preparing to fire. Vin could see that they were debating at what to do, to shoot and risk being short by incidental fire or to sit by and do nothing, possibly allowing the Emperor’s favourite to be cut down by his enemies. Vin was not about to wait for the outcome of their ruminations and hurried forward, brandishing his light sabre, hoping that they might withdraw.

They did not.

Opening fire, Vin immediately acted on instinct, hoping he could rise to the occasion and defend himself as he had seen Chris do on so many occasions. He leapt into the air as he approached them, confusing their eyes with a flurry of movement as he spun in mid and landed directly in front of them. As the first one of their number pulled the trigger on him, Vin immediately deflected the bolt of energy, sending it harmlessly into the wall where it hissed and bit into the melted. The others did the same and Vin found himself able to keep pace with their shots, even to the point where they left him enough of an opening to dispatch them permanently. It took some doing, coordinating the use of the Force with his ability to wield the light sabre and to send a telekinetic pulse at his enemies but Vin managed it. 

Two storm troopers went sprawling down the corridor, their bodies sliding against the smooth floor, coming to rest at the foot of the wall. It was hard pressed to say who was more astonished but Vin could not allow himself to remain distracted and swung his blade once more at an oncoming bolt of energy, sending it elsewhere. He did not know how long he kept it up; forcing them back the way they came until the only course left to them was a hasty retreat. He knew they would be back. He could sense the emotions running through them as they left and knew they would return with reinforcements.

For a few seconds after they had gone, Vin stood there somewhat shaken by the fact that he had not only mastered as much as he had in order to fight them but also because he had achieved a oneness with the Force he never felt before. Through all the months of learning and communing with that elusive energy field, tapping only briefly what was only the first step into a larger world, he never thought he would be feel as close to it as he did now. It would almost feel euphoric if he did not know his friends were in a life and death struggle to survive. On that note, Vin turned around and saw Vader and Ben disappearing at the other end of the corridor.

Vin broke into a run; his light sabre still activated as he followed the low hum as their weapons swung, followed by the clashing of energy when their blades met. He could feel Vader’s rage and Ben’s sorrow. It radiated off them like a beacon and Vin knew that whether or not they knew it, neither was going to retreat until one of them was dead. Perhaps Ben had intended to keep Vader busy while Chris rescued Mary but that was no longer the case, they were fighting for keeps. Vin did not know how he intended to pull them back from the edge but he was going to try. In the last few minutes, he understood things clearly and he had come to a place Chris told he would know instantly when the time was right and in coming to this revelation, he knew what he had to do.

He had to stop them because he could and because he was a Jedi.

* * *

They could hear the Imperial troops attempting to breach the doors in the room below them and knew their time was dwindling. No doubt their escape from the detention block would be no easier but at least they would not be overwhelmed by Imperial troops in what would more or less be a kill zone when all those weapons were aimed at them in such a confined space. Chris immediately went to Mary to ensure for his peace of mind she was still alright. The rebel leader was still very much unconscious and Chris could feel her life ebbing away from the injuries he could not see but knew to be there nonetheless.

"By the Force!" Alex whispered when she saw her friend lying on the floor, covered in a multitude of bruises. She left the equally unconscious Julia Pemberton whom she had taken as a hostage and clambered to her friend’s side. "What happened to her?"

Chris did not give her an answer and she did not ask for one because she knew what would have caused this. Her jaw clenched in anger and Chris could tell that she was just as furious as he about Mary’s brutal treatment.

"Bastards." She whispered softly. "Those bastards."

"We have to keep moving," Josiah spoke up, reminding them of their situation. "Casey’s got an idea and I think we ought to let her try it." He glanced at Casey and nodded at the young woman to speak.

Chris and Alex regarded her automatically and saw Casey swallow thickly before responding. "I want to download the worm program into the Domicile’s network."

"Can you do that?" Chris asked her.

"I don’t see why not." Casey replied. "The only reason the prison isn’t effected like the rest of the defence grid is because it’s a self contained system but if I can get to a terminal like before, I should be able to download it into this system as well."

"What will that do?" Rayne inquired, knowing very little about slicer programs such as the type Casey was employing with so much expertise.

"Quite a lot," Alex answered. "It will open cells and disrupt their internal sensors and turn of all security grids. It could create just enough chaos for us to get out of here."

"We’re not going out the way we came," Chris declared. "With Vader here, there’s going to be more troops arriving. The Emperor will know if he’s in trouble. We have to make our way to the landing pad."

Alex looked at him. "Why?"

"Because," Chris said firmly as he secured his hold around Mary, "Vader had to come here in order to intercept us and I’m pretty damn sure the ship he came in is also here."

"We’re going to steal his ship?" Inez stared at him.

"Do you think there would be anybody who would dare to stop his shuttle from leaving Coruscant?" Josiah pointed out.

"He’s got a point," Inez retorted. "What about her?" They glanced at Julia Pemberton who was still lying on the floor, oblivious to their discussion.

"We take her with us," Alex said firmly, absolute on that point. "We’re going to need a hostage to get through those troops and she’ll do just nicely."

"For the moment," Chris stared at the titian haired Imperial officer and sucked in his breath. "But we get rid of her as soon as we can. There’s something about her that disturbs me and I don’t want her with us. I can feel how strong the dark side in within her and its nothing we want to deal today. Tomorrow perhaps, but not today."

"As soon as we’re done using her," Alex conceded because she knew anything that gave a Jedi concern should never be disregarded. However, Alex shared Chris’s feeling that their troubles with Julia Pemberton was just beginning.


	15. Chapter 15

 She had been lost you see.

Wandering through a thick fog unable to see anything through the swirls of grey. She did not know how long she walked, perhaps forever, perhaps for only an instant. She did not know for certain because time had no meaning in this place. She simply walked, searching for something she did not know what, visited by faces that sometimes frightened her before she was forced to run away in fear. There was sense of self but it was faint and so in being unable to remember who she was, she remained lost in the fog. She had almost given up hope of ever finding her way out it. Yet there was more beyond what she could see, she was certain of it.

It just seemed so far away.

Until she heard his voice again and suddenly the fog began to clear. There was still some way for her to go yet but she could feel the its boundaries when previously it seemed vast, like an ocean. He called to her like a beacon in the dark and she followed his voice, full of calm reassurance he would keep her safe no matter what. As she walked towards him, she followed his voice on faith alone, assailed by memories as she wandered along the path he created for her. The memories were painful and pleasant in their texture. Some of it was hard to take in and others filled her soul with vibrant colour.

She had been drifting through the fog, searching for her way out of it when his voice gave her direction and she started running towards something instead of simply wandering. For the first time in too long, she felt the blood flow through her veins in surge of sensation, not the dull, lethargic pace it had been taking. She felt alive because she could feel the pain that felt distance since her arrival in this stygian place. It was not until she started finding her way out she remembered why she had retreated here to begin with.

She had come here because of the mind probe. It had been tearing away at her mind, weakening her body in order to assault her with images she could not cope with. The drugs drowned her system until she could fight no  more. She persevered for as long as she could but then a new jailer had come who was less subtle than the last and infinitely more brutal. The beatings had come when drugs and hallucinations already weakened her. She knew unless something drastic was done, she would give them all they wished to know and the possibility she might betray everyone that meant anything to her, forced her into this oblivion where she remained until she heard his voice.

Now she was running towards it and as the dark swirled away from her, she began to hear other things. Voices of friends who were not speaking to her but to each other. There was tension in their voices, as if they were afraid and there were other sounds as well, loud and shattering to the ear. She heard them shouting, heard noise exploding around her until she flinched each time one sounded close to her. Her head was starting to spin the louder the noise became and the fog began to swirl in on her, pulling her down a vortex of sight and sound...

* * *

"Watch out!" Someone shouted and brought Mary forcefully back to the reality.

She opened her eyes and squinted for a moment to adjust to the influx of light pouring into her eyes. Her head throbbed and her body was filled with the ache of injury. For a few seconds, Mary was disorientated from the sensory overload and it was difficult to get her bearings but one thing soon became clear, she was not on her feet but being carried. Looking up, she saw a familiar face above her own and suddenly a memory surfaced in her mind she thought was a dream but knew now to be a reality.

"Chris." Mary whispered, daring not to believe that it was true, that he was here.

He dropped his gaze enough to let her know he was aware she had spoken but his attention was needed elsewhere.

It was at this point that Mary appraised the situation before her and saw that her friends were around her, running down a corridor as they were being pursued by a group of storm troopers firing into them. With her arms wrapped around his neck, Mary craned her neck and saw Alex and Josiah laying down covering fire as Tula kept her massive arm wrapped around Julia Pemberton. The Imperial agent was forced to remain a hostage while Inez kept a close eye in case she attempted to break free. She saw Rayne ushering Casey forward, making sure the young girl was safe as bolts of energy chased them down the corridor despite efforts to keep ahead of them. The lights overhead were flickering on and off at erratic pulses of time, irritating her eyes with their glare.

"Chris," Mary spoke after a moment, assessing the situation.

"Its okay Mary," Chris said quickly. "We’re getting you out of here."

That was not likely with his being burdened with her weight in his arms, she thought. Mary was in great pain but she understood they needed an edge to get away from those pursuing storm troopers and he was the only one she knew who could provide it.

"Chris," Mary spoke up again, a little more forcefully.

"What?" He asked, starting to get impatient with her persistence.

"Put me down." She asked.

He stared at her almost as if she had demanded some preposterous request. "You can barely stand." 

"I’ll be fine," she grunted in pain and noted he made no move to do as she had asked. "Get someone else to help me. You’re the only one who can keep those troopers from getting to us, you know that."

Chris sucked in his breath and cursed silently because she was right. How was it that she could be so damned logical at times? Even when she was battered and bruised, appearing as if she might slip out of this world any second and quite possibly could for the injuries she had sustained. They left the detention bay with storm troopers dogging their every step, even with Julia Pemberton as hostage. That had only given them pause but not much else. In the meantime, the Imperial officer took every opportunity to impede their progress. Chris was starting to wonder whether it was not a wiser choice to simply leave her behind.

"Josiah!" Chris called out.

Josiah immediately paused in the firing of his weapon and gave Inez a quick glimpse to express his desire for her to take his place in laying down a barrage of fire between them and the Imperial storm troopers following so closely. Inez did not have to be told twice and was soon firing into the thickest part of the group of armour clad sentries. Josiah kept his head down as he hurried down the corridor, joining Chris and Mary in a matter of seconds. Around them, stray bolts impacted along the walls, creating fiery imprints where plasma met steel. They were not far from the landing bay but the journey there was nonetheless fraught with danger.

Casey had done what she had promised. She had managed to disrupt the Domicile’s mainframe, so far protected from the chaos she had caused elsewhere on Coruscant because of its isolation, introducing the same virus that disabled the rest of the planet. Now security systems were failing everywhere and because of the widespread disruption cause by the failure of the defence grid and the battle taking place over the skies of Coruscant, the Domicile’s keepers could not count on assistance from the rest of Imperial forces stationed on the home world.

"Josiah I need you to take Mary," Chris instructed when Josiah reached him.

"I just need an arm to keep me up," Mary said swiftly, not about to admit in any shape of form that she was as weakened as she appeared.

"I think we can manage more than just that," Josiah rumbled with a smile, pleased to see she had returned to them and some semblance of her usual self. The senator slung his weapon over his shoulder and took Mary from Chris’s arms. "What are you going to do?" He looked at Chris in question as he took Mary from the Jedi.

"He’s going to get us out of here," Mary whispered, feeling stabs of pain in her body. She was more grateful than she cared to admit Josiah was carrying her because despite her claims to the contrary, Mary felt as if she had been broken in half.

"What the lady said," Chris said coolly and walked past them, igniting his light sabre in the process.

The Jedi strode boldly forward, caring little there were bolts of energy flying towards him. He could only see one thing at the moment and that was the enemy before them who had to be vanquished for them to escape. As far as Chris was concerned, he had spent just enough time on Coruscant as he could stand. This was no longer the place he knew, the one where he come to be trained as a Jedi. The place where he had taken a wife much to the disapproval of the Jedi Council and where she would eventually die with her son and the child he tried so hard not to think about, the one slumbering in the womb when death took its mother. Whatever wonder Coruscant had once held for the galaxy, it was now gone.

Coruscant was now the Emperor’s dark heart.

He raised his blade to bear and saw the hesitation in the efforts of those prepared to shoot down his companions but were somewhat uneasy at facing a Jedi. He could feel their fear. It exuded from them like a festering wound. Chris was unsurprised when they ceased to fire, their curiosity had over ridden their fear momentarily and they were trying to decide what he was going to do. Was it a Jedi trick they should beware of was the Jedi asking for clemency? Chris wondered if they knew how wrong they were but he was not about to make that a fatal lesson. He was a Jedi. He would not kill indiscriminately, just for defence.

"You know what I am," Chris spoke out firmly. "I don’t wish to harm anyone of you but if I must, I will see to it that my friends and I escape this place safely. Leave now and this goes no further. You know I can walk out of here, the question is how many of you will die in a futile effort to stop me."

He felt their emotions torn and knew they were perfectly aware he could do what he threatened. The room was perfectly silent even though there were klaxons screaming alerts all over the place. Yet no one seemed to notice as everyone waited with abated breath at the outcome of this exchange. Chris could feel their desire to let this go, to deal with the other threats that were running rife through the rest of the facility. Weapons that were pointed firmly at him and his companions suddenly did not seem so absolute in their purpose and began to waver. It appeared as if they might have seen the wisdom of his words...

"YOU ARE IMPERIAL STORM TROOPERS! YOU WILL CARRY OUT YOUR DUTY OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES! SHOOT HIM!"

Julia Pemberton’s voice ripped through the air and ended any chance of ending the standoff without further loss of life. Her command shifted the balance immediately and weapons were raised and this time there was no hesitation.

"You bitch!" Alex swore and promptly slammed the butt of her gun into the lieutenant’s face. Julia went down uttering a soft cry of pain eclipsed by the crunch of bone when her skull met steel. She slumped unconsciously in Tula’s arms, knocked cold by the force of Alex’s strike. "I should have just shot you!"

Tula growled her agreement and added a further comment, which Alex heartily agreed with. "Leave her. Let them deal with her."

Tula nodded and released her hold of the Imperial agent. Julia slid to the floor without protest, making a fair thud on the steel deck when she landed. She remained oblivious to it all; Alex’s initial blow ensuring she would trouble them no further.

However, the damage was done as firing broke out again and the course of action Chris had not wished to take, now lay before him and forced him to act. Running forward, he somersaulted into the air, over the reach of the blasts coming in his direction. His light sabre was already swinging into action, preparing to defend him as he landed before the storm troopers, almost face to face. Swing out ferociously, the energy beam emitted its low drone as it moved through air first before slicing through the steel of the guns attempting to shoot at him, ending their threat with the clanging sound of metal landing against the deck.

Not giving them any time to deal with their surprise, Chris raised his hand and captured their attention. It was easy enough to do. They were frightened and their minds were open. It was easy to ride the strong emotions emanating from them so readily, straight into their psyche to work his will. He had not lied about not wishing to kill them. A Jedi did not kill unless he was defending himself and even then, he should think a way to avoid that circumstance. He concentrated hard and planted a simple enough suggestion in their minds, one that would end this without bloodshed and allowed he and his companions to gain the time they needed to make their way to the landing pad on the roof of the Domicile.

_Leave._

Their minds clouded over as Chris sent the word straight into their minds.

_Leave us now. Turn around and walk away. Forget that we ever here._

Chris was concentrating so hard on making the storm troopers give up without a fright, he did not notice the others holding their breaths behind him with anticipation at whether or not he would succeed. After an eternity of seconds had hurtled by, their weapons lowered and the group of soldiers turned around and began walking away. It was not easy to wrestle momentary control over so many minds without permanent damage and Chris could feel the strength ebbing from him. He did not realize until they walked away and disappeared down the corridor that he was panting hard. He should not have attempted something so ambitious and could not deny feeling drained. Much of his energies were already portioned out to the rapid healing allowing him to take part in this rescue mission. He was straining his endurance by attempting something like this.

"Chris," he felt Alex’s hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He turned around and saw her face full of concern. Alex’s expression mirrored that of the others waiting for him to respond. Mary was staring at him weakly from Josiah’s arms, trying valiantly to stay conscious but he could feel her strength being sapped away even more rapidly than his. She needed a medical droid before her condition became any worse. Not that he was in any better shape himself. He had been forcing the issue with his own Jedi abilities, allowing it to strengthen him despite the injuries she had caused. 

"Yeah," he nodded slowly. "I’m fine."

"You bought us some time," Josiah called out. "Let’s not waste it."

"We won’t," Alex responded and kept her eye on Chris. This was Vin’s best friend and she would protect the Jedi as Vin protected him. They had gotten this far on his determination alone and now Alex intended to ensure she took them the rest of the way. "Come on." She took his arm and led him away from where he was. "Its time to go home."

Chris could not disagree with her on that point.

* * *

He had done this once before.

The circumstances were so familiar that Ben Kenobi felt astonished he had not seen if before now. It was unthinkable he should forget. It was one of the most pivotal moments of his life and it changed him forever, marked him as if a branding iron had left behind scars on his flesh. Upon this realization, he felt a sliver of ice move up his spine with such ferocity he was rather surprised no one else sensed it. He supposed they had other things on their minds at the time. His mind and his body were no longer working together as he identified the place he had come to be and wondered how he could forget when the circumstances were so similar. By the Force he hoped it was not _that_ similar.

A master and an apprentice doing battle with a Sith Lord.

Ben and Vin had reached some kind of synchronicity as they continued to do battle with Darth Vader. Their sabre fight had continued to move upwards, with no others interfering after the storm troopers saw what had been done to those who had tried to interfere in Jedi combat. As soon as Vin delivered his strike, Ben was there to see another take its place. One after another, they raged against the dark lord who was finding it harder and harder to fend off the well coordinated attack. They had moved to the landing bay, where only sky remained above them and the concourse of their final battle suddenly appeared all around them.

The journey here had been intentional for they had some idea of what Chris was intending and the only way to make a swift departure from Coruscant at this point would be to commandeer the shuttle they could see resting on the landing pad not far away from them. Very soon, reinforcements would be arriving to answer the distress call Coruscant was beckoning throughout the quadrant because of the rebel attack. Ezra Standish and what was left of his fleet had that much time to leave the system before the victory they achieved this day ended in ashes. Vader was putting up a valiant fight though and Ben felt his heart ache at a vision of promise gone so terribly wrong. He swung hard at Vader’s sabre driving the Sith Lord back as Vin prepared to follow suit.

Vader had barely a second to recover from the strike just delivered. He retreated across the roof of the structure, conscious of the waves roaring from the depths below and wondered absurdly if the air tasted of salt. His agility was lost when he had donned on this armour and that lack of mobility was never as missed than at this moment. He was being driven to the edge and there was little he could do to stop it. Ben would never have been able to take him alone but the young man with him, Tanner whom Vader had almost sent to his death once had improved greatly since their last encounter. The fear that Vader had sense so prolifically was nowhere to be found in the young apprentice. He had learnted control and in learning that valuable lesson had taken a step towards becoming a Jedi.

It was with a sense of irony Vader realized he probably had more to do with that anyone else.

"Obi-Wan!" Vader hissed as they neared the edge of the room. He could see the waves now, see them crushing against the rocks and then receding.

Vader’s plea brought a slight pause to the battle and both Jedi lowered their blades, if not deactivating them. Ben sucked in his breath and glared at the helmeted creature that was once his best friend, whose children he was now bound to guard until the end of his days.

"What is Darth?"

"You used to call me Anakin," Vader spoke, his heavy metallic voice even more laboured than usual. "Remember?"

"There was an Anakin once," Ben said dispassionately. "But you murdered him."

"I murdered no one, I  _am_  Anakin." 

"He’s stalling." Vin declared.

"We were friends once Obi-Wan," Vader continued, ignoring Vin. "I was your  _padwan_  learner. I was at your side as a boy. I became a man before you. We were like brothers."

Ben remembered those times and his heart ached with the cuts of a thousand knives when that memory surfaced to haunt him. "We were brothers," Ben swallowed. "Qui Gonn promised your mother he’d take care of you and when he was dying, he made me promise. He thought you were the future, something worth dying for. I believed him. I trained you and made you my friend because of it, but what you did when you went to Palpatine was not simply turning to the dark side! You made me party to the annihilation of Jedi Order and I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT!"

Ben rushed forward and swung his blade once more, the pent up fury and despair from watching someone he had cared for so much about become something so vile and unthinkable frothed to the surface and he struck with savagery. For an instant Vin was overcome with the fury of that anger. He saw Vader unable to combat such a tidal wave of rage and dark fury and Ben, finally expressing the guilt he carried inside him for so long, was absolutely relentless in his vicious attack. The Jedi was barely thinking, merely acting until Vader was almost at the edge of the roof. The dark lord was already exhausted from battling the two Jedi. Now he had to cope with an attack fuelled by the side of the Force he was accustomed to seeing only in himself.

A part of Vin wanted to see Ben kill Darth Vader. He wanted Ben to strike down the Sith Lord that killed Charlotte and had almost killed him but he could not. He could not watch it happen and he certainly could not allow Ben to do it. The Jedi Master was too important to lose to the dark side of the Force and were he to continue on his present course, that was precisely what would happen . Ben had a destiny of his own to fulfil and too many cared about him to see him reach that end, Vin included. Ben hurried forward as Vader tethered on the edge of the roof, clinging to a stone palisade that would not hold his weight if he kept leaning against it any further. Vader did not beg as he saw Ben raising the blade and preparing to bring it down upon him in a final stroke that would decide all their destinies.

"Ben don’t," Vin spoke up. "Don’t kill him."

Ben threw a sidelong glance at his younger companion with astonishment. "Don’t kill him? After every thing he has done?" The Jedi was almost incredulous with shock.

"Yes," Vin nodded and repeated. "Don’t kill him like this. You’ve been angry and guilty for a long time because of what he did but you’re still a Jedi. If you kill him, if you strike him down when he can’t strike back, then you’ll become him."

Ben closed his eyes, feeling the anguish spreading through him at the understanding that the younger man was right. Were Ben to do this thing, he would destroy himself as surely as Anakin had done when he became Palpatine’s dark servant. Yet knowing this was the wrong path did not make it any easier to turn away from it. Because of Vader’s actions, Ben was partly responsible for destroying the Jedi Knights and driving them all into extinction. If he had heeded Master Yoda’s words about not training the boy, if he had not felt obligated to Qui Gonn to make Anakin a Jedi, so many things would have been different. 

Padme's heart would not have been broken.

But Vin was right. To strike Vader down now would only bring about his total ruination and there was still important work left to be done yet. Luke and perhaps even Leia would need his guidance one day. Someone had to show Luke his destiny and it had to be Ben. What mistakes he made with Vader, he would not make with Luke. He would see Luke delivered to Yoda who would teach him far better than Ben ever taught Anakin and perhaps, the Jedi might survive after all.

"BEN! Watch out!" Vin suddenly shouted.

Ben’s eyes flew open just in time to see Vader preparing to strike a mortal blow. In his ruminations, the dark lord managed to recoup his strength to launch a renewed assault but Ben was too swift for him. Ben brought his sabre down and blocked the strike, unaware next to him Vin was doing the same. Both their blades met Vader’s with a resounding clash of energy and removed what equilibrium the Sith Lord was still maintaining at the edge. Vader toppled backwards from the force of two simultaneous strikes and was soon plunging downwards, his black cloak billowing behind him in his descent.

"Anakin!" Ben called out in a strangled whisper as he saw his former student and friend plunging the second time into certain death. The first time Anakin had emerged from the molten pit of lava as Darth Vader. Would he survive this time? Ben watched until he disappeared into the darkness of the night before he turned away, unable to see Vader meet his end.

"Ben! Vin!" A new voice shattered the stillness of the moment.

Both Jedi stood up straight and saw Chris and Alex leading the others from the lift that brought them to this level. The skies above Coruscant were starting to clear, indicating there were no more ships streaking through the atmosphere to a fiery death. Chris seemed to know what was happening before reaching them while Alex simply ran into Vin’s arms in a show of happiness at seeing him safe. Their lips met in a warm but passionate exchange that lasted no more than a second before they faced the others.

"Ben," Chris asked meeting his old friend’s gaze. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Ben nodded after a moment, casting a glance over his shoulder and seeing nothing in the darkness. Yet he had not felt Vader die and was sure the dark lord would surface even from what seemed like certain death. "I’m sure I'll live."

"We have to go," Alex prompted. The others were already making their way across the roof towards Vader’s shuttle. "Chris has managed to get us this far but I don’t think we should waste any more time then necessary."

"I’m all for that," Vin retorted starting towards the shuttle with Alex, causing Ben and Chris to do the same. "Let’s get the hell out of this place."

"Yes," Ben Kenobi whispered softly, feeling the weight of despair settling into his shoulders with a permanence he would never be free of. "We’re done here."

The others with him seemed to agree but Ben knew something else, something he felt since arriving on Coruscant to which he had told no one. There did not seem any point in it really. Its importance was only to him.

After this day, he would never see Coruscant again.


	16. Celebration

Mary woke up knowing Chris was near.

She could feel him warming her soul with his presence. For the first time in too long, her mind was truly hers alone. Clarity filtered into every dark corner, saturated by drugs and forced the demons surfaced by the mind probe, back into the depths where they could do no harm. She always accepted that a person was a sum of their experiences, good or bad and to remove one would be to impair the whole but these demons she could do without. She lolled her head against the soft pillow and let out a little sigh of pleasure at the relaxation it offered her. Despite its comforting pull, she had wanted to wake up. It felt as if she had been away for too long and the need to return to the land of the living was overwhelming.

She pushed herself upright on her hands on the comfortably warm bed she had been inhabiting for who knows how long and noted the pain  had receded to a dull throb that remained thankfully, at a tolerable distance from her body. She looked around the room and knew immediately she was within the confines of a rebel medical center. It held the usual indications one associated with a place of healing such as the overpowering silence and the hard, sterile scent of disinfectant. Upon swallowing, she discovered her throat was dry and she was thirsty. Offhandedly, she wondered how long she had been here and supposed she would be told soon enough.

Stretching out her hand, she rested it on Chris’s own. He was seated on a chair against the wall next to her bed. His head was tilted back slightly as he dozed, his hand lying on the mattress as if he had been holding hers for the duration of her time in bed. Her fingertips brushed the fine hairs on his skin, testing the sensation of him against hers as she journeyed to a knuckle, swirling around it before moving down the tapering finger. She sucked in her breath at the warmth and life exuding from him, convinced she was not dreaming. The rescue she remembered was not an illusion conceived by the mind probe to confuse her and extract information.

The tears came without her being aware of it.

It escaped her in a loud sob had made her body shudder. It came from the innermost depths of her because that was where she was forced to hide during the entire length of her capture. The tears ran down her cheeks as she wept silently, seeing him alive and well. Not to mention, being the reason for a plan that saw not only him, but all her friends mount a rescue operation that by all rights should have been impossible but had succeeded because she was here. She wondered how they had managed it and reminded herself to ask them later but for now, she was overwhelmed by what they had risked to save her life.

"Mary," Chris opened his eyes at the sound of her tears.

"Chris," she sucked in her tears and composed herself quickly, drying her eyes because she did not want him to see her cry.

"You’re crying." 

"Yes," she didn't bother to deny it because it was pointless lying to him. Chris could see straight through her. "I was."

"You shouldn’t be," he pointed out gently "You’re safe."

"I know," she swallowed, trying to articulate her thoughts through a torrent of emotions. "You came for me,  _all_  of you."

"I love you," Chris answered as if that alone should explain everything and it did. "The others do in their way too, no less than me. You would have done the same for any of us."

It was true. She would and had on numerous occasions before. She had proved it by her actions, by her belief there was quite enough death in the galaxy without becoming held to the notion people were expendable. "How did you do it?" She asked. "How did you manage to get into Coruscant?"

"It was Ezra," Chris explained and that was the truth of it.

Before Ezra had taken control of the situation, each of them had parts of a plan that would not have worked alone. Ezra had brought those different elements together into a cohesive plan of attack. "Thrawn came after him to so he and Inez had no choice but to run. They arrived at Siraj just before the  _Purgatory_  was destroyed. He managed to hold everything together while you were gone." Chris felt a fresh wave of admiration for the former Imperial commander and reminded himself to tell the man the next time he saw Ezra.

"Thank the Force," Mary sighed, having a good deal of confidence in Ezra. He was the only she trusted with command of her people. Now it appeared that confidence was completely warranted. "So he put the plan together to rescue me?"

"Something like that," Chris nodded. "I’ll tell you the details later. All you need to know is that he’s taking care of things while you rest."

"That’s good to know," Mary absorbed that information and could not deny she was in no hurry to take up her post. 

She lay back on her pillow, staring at the ceiling before she remembered all the things she thought she would never have the chance to say to him when she was trapped like an animal in the Domicile.

"I’m sorry." She said quietly.

Chris stared at her a moment before he answered, "you don’t have anything to be sorry about."

"Yes I do," she met his eyes. "I thought I was doing the right thing by giving myself up to Thrawn. I made that choice without consulting you. I was wrong. I almost killed you and endangered everyone because of what I did. If you insist on absolving me of everything that is your prerogative but I can't forgive myself for that."

"Alright," he let out a breath. "You did an extremely stupid thing. You endangered everyone by your actions but you’ve also gone through hell the last week and I think that more than makes up for what’s happened. Besides, you’re human and like the rest of us even the Jedi, you are allowed mistakes. Mary I can’t tell you whether or not you should forgive yourself. All I can tell you is I love you and like the rest of the Alliance, I am so grateful you’re back with us safe and sound I don’t care how you were captured, only that you’re home now."

Mary blinked away fresh tears at his words and clenched her small hand around his own and met his eyes through a glistening film of moisture. "I love you Chris."

Chris leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips, "I love you Mary. I never thought I could love anyone again but I love you and I’ll never leave you."

She stared into his face and knew that it was the truth. She carried him inside her and no matter what destiny might lay before them their souls were linked forever. It was a very comforting feeling.

* * *

 

Vader lived.

He lay in his private chambers, attended by physicians sworn to secrecy who knew the penalty for making known what took place in Vader’s domain, would mean nothing less than an agonizing death. They worked quietly, speaking only when necessary, urgency in all their actions, not to mention fear as they attempted to prolong the life of the Emperor’s favourite. There was no question of failing this task because if Vader were to die then they would join him in the afterlife. The Emperor would see to that. Palpatine had charged them to heal his apprentice because they were known to be the best in the Empire. However, being known as such was no comfort to them at this moment, with such a consequence hanging over them in the event of failure.

Vader lay back trying to ignore the touch on his tender skin, feeling helpless and exposed. His armour had been peeled off him and he felt raw. Unfortunately, there was no choice in the matter. The armour and the cybernetics that kept him alive were damaged in the fall. By all right, he should have been killed. If he had not reached out with the Force and allowed it to cushion his descent when he reached the water below, he would have died instantly. Unfortunately, there was only so much he was able to do with the Force and so little time in which to do it. While he prevented himself from being killed, he could not keep himself from injury and though the armour absorbed much, it could not absorb all of it.

The impact had caused severed internal bleeding throughout his body, with broken bones and the cybernetics within the armour had been completely destroyed. If he had not entered the Jedi healing state, he would have died after he had clawed his way to the shore. However, even the healing state was incapable of healing the kind of injuries he sustained especially without the aid of the mechanics in his armour. They had found him and returned him to his fortress where physicians worked feverishly to replace the armour that maintained the organic process, his body was incapable of doing itself. He was subjected to the indignity of exposing his true self, the disfigured shell his body had become after falling into molten lava.

For the second time, Ben Kenobi had almost killed him and did not.

Vader seethed inwardly as they healed his injuries and rebuilt the armour that would encase his body completely. In retrospect, he should have anticipated Ben’s anger. After all, it was because of Qui Gonn Ben trained him and had inadvertently set in motion the wheels for the destruction of the Jedi. He never experienced the full wrath of Jedi Master before and wondered how the battle would have ended if Vin Tanner had not complicated things with his presence. What would have been the outcome if the two had been allowed to continue their combat without interference, with only each other’s hate to whet the mettle of their fight? Vader was certain it would not end with his being in this bed.

All this effort and he was still no closer to finding his son.

That most of all left a bitter taste in his mouth. It did not matter he supposed because someday Vader would find him or perhaps he would find Vader. There was bond between them whether or not Ben wished to acknowledge it. It had been written in blood no matter how hard Ben tried to hide the boy from Vader. Someday, his son would find him. It was inevitable.

It was destiny.

* * *

"I am most displeased with you." Although he was speaking quietly, his voice seemed to boom through the recesses of his private sanctum.

Julia tried not to show her fear but it was impossible not to in his presence. However, it was not simply fear that made her so conscious of him but also the knowledge she had failed in her duty to guard Mary Travis. Since the rescue of Mary Travis, the Imperial propaganda machine had been strangely silent. Sometimes the best way to downplay a situation was not to say anything about it and the rebel offensive over Coruscant certainty came under that category. There was no way to explain away what had happened to Coruscant during the battle, that their defences were completely breached because the enemy had employed savaged tactics in the retrieval of its most decorated officer. The Emperor himself summoned her here to make account for herself, particularly when it was discovered who was leading the attack fleet.

"I am sorry Master," Julia said contritely, her eyes fixed on the floor because she was not worthy to look at him and when his disposition was such, not entirely wise either. "I failed you. I allowed her to escape."

"You have embarrassed this office," Palpatine said mercilessly, wanting her to squirm. If he could make Vader tremble then by the Force he would make this foolish woman do the same. "The Emperor does not allow anything to transpire that is not of his consent. What do you think does to that belief when Coruscant is set aflame?"

"I did not know that they were planning..." Julia started to speak.

"SILENCE!" Palpatine roared, cutting her off sharply. "You were responsible for the surveillance of one Ezra Standish. You allowed him to escape and lead an invasion against Coruscant. Did it ever occur to you had he chosen to, he could have taken Coruscant?"

Julia raised his eyes briefly. "That’s impossible."

"Is it?" Palpatine asked as he raised himself from his throne and walked across the space between them. "Had he the resources to occupy Coruscant, he might have done so. It certainly within the realm of possibility when he managed to disable half the fleet required to guard home world and destroyed the rest!"

Palpatine was stating to show the effects the dark side of the Force could have on a human body. His eyes were sunken and hollow, the blue irises were stained with flecks of yellow. His face seemed leathery as if he had been in the sun for too long. His appearance surprised her a little but she held her composure as he came to her, his dark cloak flowing behind him before his hands reached out and grabbed her chin hard.

"Your reports indicated Standish was nothing more than a dilettante with ability to command. Hardly the description of the man who brought my fleet to its knees!"

"I didn’t know!" Julia stammered. "He revealed nothing that indicated any tactical ability!"

"Then you did not look hard enough." Palpatine dug his fingers into her skin, until Julia could feel blood being drawn. "Perhaps your feelings on this matter are conflicted." He hissed.

"I don’t know what you mean," she lied and knew that it was foolish to do so.

"I think you do," Palpatine’s eyes narrowed and released his grip. Julia stumbled back, panting hard because this man had the power to end her life where she stood by his own hand or by those he commanded.

Palpatine seemed to relax then, tucking his hands behind his back before he spoke once more. "If you want this man, I will give him to you."

Julia stared. "Give him to me?"

"Yes," Palpatine nodded, a malevolent smile stretched across his face as he answered. "I will allow you to keep him as your very own pet, sufficiently neutered of course but possessing of all the vital necessities you require. I will do this if you catch him for me."

"What about Mary Travis?" Julia Ventured to ask.

"Travis is not your concern," Palpatine’s voice became hard as he was reminded of his other loss this week. "I have summoned Thrawn back from the Rim, he is more capable of netting  _that_  fish than you. All I require of you is to bring me Standish. The faith in the Empire cannot remain so long as the man who managed to weaken Coruscant is captured."

"I understand," Julia nodded.

"No you do not," he retorted and his voice lowered a pitch until it made her uncomfortable just hearing it. "If you fail me, I will have your consciousness transferred to a computer just before I deliver you the most prolonged and agonizing death imaginable. And then after, I have that consciousness restored to a new body, I will find some other way to end your life that is just as excruciating. I will do this for the next hundred years if you fail me again. Do we understand each other?"

Julia found herself shaking because he meant it. She knew he had all sorts of life sustaining devices in his possession, she had seen them for herself and so she was not foolish enough to disbelieve him.

"I swear to you Master," she finally spoke. "I will find him. If it takes forever, I will find him."

"You will find him," Palpatine said in turn. "Or you will find out just how long forever can be."

* * *

The celebration began even before the  _Vanguard_  returned to Jofan space.

Rebel cells across the galaxy were heralding the attack on Coruscant and the rescue of Mary Travis as one of their most spectacular victories. Indeed, the statement though somewhat grandiose, was not altogether in correct. When Mary was captured, the blow to Alliance morale had been significant. Losing their best and brightest made those left behind question whether or not death would be the outcome for their fight for freedom. However, Mary’s rescue from the impregnable Imperial stronghold had changed all that. Coruscant reputation for being untouchable was now in flames; with a large portion of the fleet assigned to guard her also destroyed or severely damaged.

Ezra Standish was being hailed as an Alliance hero.

Following the return of Vader’s shuttle on board the _Vanguard_ with its precious cargo of Jedi, operatives and one injured rebel leader, Ezra’s mind was too occupied with the task of leaving Coruscant space to be aware of his rising status. Issuing the order to retreat to all rebel ships in the vicinity, Ezra saw no need to remain once the rescue team completed their mission. In truth, there was very little danger in remaining for a time because Coruscant’s defences were severely impaired but Ezra was not about to take that chance. Only a foolish man developed delusions of grandeur in a situation like this and he was by no means foolish. In any case, the decision to make a hasty retreat proved to be a wise choice since they were notified that the Executor was on its way back to Coruscant and would arrive in a matter of hours. Ezra had no wish to face the superstar destroyer, nor was he confident any rebel ship  would survive the encounter if they did.

His primary concern in this whole venture had been the rescue of Mary Travis and as far as he was concerned, that they had managed it without significant loss of life was all the thanks he needed. He tried not to think about the people who had died on Coruscant when debris from the destroyed ships had become a deadly shower from the sky. He knew he could not. He had chosen a course of action and knew the consequences from the onset. He would live with the guilt of those lives forever. There was no escaping that no matter how much he tried to rationalize what he had done. All he could do was live with what had happened and he would.

Only after the _Vanguard_ had leapt into hyperspace, did Ezra deign to leave the bridge and see to his friends. Nathan had already gone because it did not require both of them to be on the bridge when the _Vanguard_ made its departure from Coruscant. As it was, Ezra was contented to wait a little while to see his friends, at least since learning Inez was safe and sound. With that knowledge secure in his mind, he could afford to be a little patient. He was glad they had managed to retrieve Mary and wondered how Imperial propaganda was going to explain her rescue not to mention masking the seemingly ineffectiveness of the Rebel Alliance now that Coruscant itself had been breached so prolifically. He wondered how the Empire would regard him after this and hoped \Maude had gone to ground as she promised. Ezra made a mental note to contact her when he could to give her a little reminder.

It felt strange having people looked at him and seeing him as commander of this vessel when Mary was now returned to them. He had always considered his role as temporary keeper just that; temporary. Now Mary was back and they were still looked at him as if he was in charge and in possession of all their answers. Ezra entered the medical center, expecting things to be different because here more than anywhere else, rebel personnel would know that Mary was back. However, if he had anticipated such a thing, it certainly did not happen. Even as he made his way to the medical center, rebel personnel requiring his opinion and orders on a varying number of issues approached him. He wondered how much longer this would last now that Mary was back.

"Ezra!" Buck Wilmington called out from behind him.

The big man hastened his space so that he could catch up with Ezra. Ezra paused and waited for the big man whom he had not seen since the battle over Coruscant. Even though he had been informed Buck and JD had made it safely back to the Vanguard when the order for retreat had been given, Ezra was nonetheless pleased to see for himself both were safe and sound. The star pilot was grinning broadly like everyone else on board the ship. Ezra would not be surprised if people started celebrating their victory even before they reached Jofa. While he was grateful for the outcome of the battle, he was not in the celebrating mood. It was enough this mission had not cost him the lives of his friends.

"Buck," Ezra noted his presence with a little smile. "Do I take your happy demeanour to mean that there is already a celebration taking place on board?"

"Of course not," Buck looked at him puzzled as they both started walking again. "I just talked to Louisa back on Jofa. She’s on her feet and raring to get back to work. Seems there’s a lot of morale to work with thanks to your little hat trick." He patted Ezra on the back.

"I’m glad to hear that," Ezra said sincerely. Louisa Perkins, Buck’s latest paramour had been injured during the battle of Siraj and had spent the last week recuperating. Buck spent most of his time at her side until the mission to Coruscant. "We should be home in a matter of hours."

"Yeah I’m itching to see the party they’re gonna be throwing us." Buck said enthusiastically.

"Oh wonderful," Ezra retorted.

"Come on Ezra," Buck slapped him on the back. "Get into the spirit of things, you deserve to be treated like a hero. Hell knows we wouldn’t be here without you."

"I would not put it quite that way," Ezra shrugged uncomfortably. Playing hero was a role he liked less than playing commander.

"Oh give it up Buck," Inez smiled as she emerged from one of the consultation rooms. During the rescue mission she had pulled a muscle from all that running and climbing and required a little dose of treatment to put her arm back in working order. "You’ll never convince him to lighten up."

"I would make the effort for you," Ezra remarked as he felt Inez kiss him lightly on the lips.

"Hey ex-husband here?" Buck grumbled.

" _Very_ ex-husband," Inez reminded sarcastically.

"What do you see in him?" Buck retorted, more comfortable with seeing Ezra and Inez together than he let on. In truth, he knew he would always love Inez but he was not in love with her and it was not right he expect Inez not to go on with her life.

"Well," Inez smiled warmly at Ezra as his arm slid around her waist. "I just love these hero types."

"Not you too," Ezra rolled his eyes. "I was merely doing what was required to help."

"Sorry Ezra," Buck shook his head, refusing to ignore Ezra’s contribution to the task of rescuing Mary. "You’re not going to convince me otherwise."

Any further protestation that Ezra could make came to an abrupt end as they entered Mary’s room. Judging by the voices emanating inside the room, it appeared as if they were not the only visitors to the commander’s room.

"Please!" A rather irate med tech was beseeching the occupants of the room with desperation. "Commander Travis is not ready for visitors! I must ask you to leave!" Upon seeing Ezra entering the room, the rather desperate Chandra-Fan physician hurried over to the commander of the _Vanguard_ , his large ears twitching with anxiety. "Commander Standish! Commander Travis is not really in any condition to accept so many visitors! As her physician I demand that you order these people out!"

"Doctor Krey please calm down," Ezra glanced reproachfully at his friends as he attempted to deal with the agitated Chandra-Fan. "I assure you all will be taken care of. If you just leave it to me, I promise you Commander Travis will get the rest you need."

"But...." the small rodent like doctor stared at Ezra in scepticism.

"I will take care of it." Ezra declared firmly, with just enough authority in his voice to let the doctor know it was time to withdraw.

Muttering in what was presumably Chandra-Fan, the doctor left the room quickly, shaking his head at the same time.

"Now how come he wouldn’t do that for me?" Mary asked weakly from her bed.

"Because technically," Ezra turned to her with a little smile. "While you are still in a state of disability, the medical officer outranks you."

"Show off," Mary frowned a little before she gave Ezra a grateful look. "I hear you’ve been taking care of my command Ezra."

"He’s been doing a great job too," Nathan spoke up. "I sure as hell didn’t think he was up to it."

Ezra gave his old friend a wounded look. "Thanks for you confidence."

"Oh he does not mean it," Rayne rolled her eyes and swatted Nathan on the shoulder. "Nathan Jackson you should not be making light of such an important subject."

"Isn’t it time for you to go back to Alderaan?" Nathan gave her a look to which she responded with a warm smile that easily conveyed she knew he did not wish her to go  _anywhere_ just yet.

"Those two aside," Mary turned away from Nathan and Rayne with a look on her face that was very much one of resignation and faced Ezra once more. "Thank you for everything you’ve done."

"I will be ready to turn command over to you at your earliest convenience," Ezra said hopefully.

"Sorry Ez," Vin cut in before Mary could respond. "You got the duty still. The Doc said Mary’s gonna be out of it for a few days."

"I supposed I could be compelled to retain command for a few more days," Ezra sighed and his disappointment was not entirely fake.

"Perhaps a little more than that," Mary added.

"A little more?" Ezra stared at her.

"I think I would like to get some rest and take some time off. I understand that my son is on Jofa?" Mary asked.

"Yes," Josiah responded. "We brought Orin and Billy to Jofa as soon as we could."

"I think under the circumstances," Alex who was seated next to Vin added, "I might take some time off, maybe help you guys set up the new base in Jofa. I could use a little R and R."

"Like the old days huh?" Mary winked at her best friend.

"Something like that." Alex grinned, squeezing Vin’s hand as she replied.

"I gotta catch up with Louisa," Buck announced to the others. "She’s about as sick as you are Mary. Maybe you can recuperate together." He winked at her, knowing that despite being sick, the comment was going to get a rise out of Mary.

"Please," Mary groaned. "I want to get better."

"You know you two are like children," Josiah pointed out. "Ezra, I pity you."

"Pity me?" Ezra looked at the senator.

"Yes," Josiah smiled widely and continued, "because now that you and Mary will be working closely together, you too can enjoy the fireworks that is Louisa and Mary in the same room."

"Oh joy." Ezra returned dourly. "Incidentally JD," he turned to the young man who was taking a moment with Casey in the corner of the room. "Those new X-wings have arrived. I understand you were to take command of this new ‘Rogue’ squadron was it?" He glanced at Nathan for confirmation.

"Really?" JD exclaimed enthusiastically, pulling himself away from the clearly intimate conversation he was having with Casey. No doubt the young lovers were accounting to each other with the last day’s events. "I get to be a full lieutenant?"

"I don’t see why not," Mary shrugged. "You worked hard enough for it."

"I can’t believe it," Buck sighed. "One minute he was this green eared kid about to get done over by a slick Rodian and now he’s a rebel squadron leader."

"Your baby’s grown up," Inez patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. "You’ll get over it  _dad_."

"Hey Mary," Casey came up to the side of the bed. "Ezra’s allowed me to rewire the whole communications network at the new base."

"I was attempting to spare Nathan’s sanity." Ezra confessed.

"Yeah," Vin chuckled. "It was either that or Nathan was going to make me use one of those Jedi mind tricks on her to make her leave him alone."

"Oh please, no more of that." Mary said sternly. "The last time you did something close to that, my inventory officer thought he was a cosmetic salesman. The poor man kept trying to convince everyone to test hygiene products he thought was cologne."

"He got better!" Vin insisted. "Beside Chris fixed him up in no time."

"And told you  _never_  to try any more mind tricks until you were a little more responsible." Josiah reminded.

"Hah!" Alex snorted. "That will be the day."

Ezra joined the laughter of his friends, feeling a great deal happier than he had been in a long time. In exchange for this new family, he could tolerate running things. For a while anyway.

Suddenly Ezra noticed one member of their party was missing. "Where is Chris?" 

At that question, Vin’s amused manner sobered considerably before he answered. "He’s with Ben."

* * *

"Are you alright?" Chris Larabee asked Ben Kenobi once he entered the room assigned to the Jedi Master when Ben had asked for some place to rest.

Ben had been staring out the window of his quarters, trying to discern some kind of pattern in the swirl energies beyond the plexiglass. He had been there for some time now, trying to come to grips with his behaviour on Coruscant and wondering if he had lost himself to the dark side of the Force because of it. He had wanted to kill Vader. If Vin had not been there, he might have done it. For a few seconds, he thought of nothing but vengeance for all the wrongs Vader had committed since he abandoned the name of Anakin Skywalker. Ben considered how easy it would be to strike down Vader, to end the disease of him before it spread any further throughout the galaxy but Vin was right, it was not worth losing himself to do so. The road to hell was paved with good intentions and so many had been lost already because of that presumption.

"Yes," Ben turned to Chris when his old friend took a seat next to him. "I will be in time."

"Vin told me what happened," Chris revealed. "You don’t have to feel ashamed."

"How can you say that?" Ben stared at him in astonishment. "I almost killed him. I almost struck him down in cold blood!"

"But you didn’t." Chris pointed out before Ben blamed himself too much.

"If it was not for Vin, I would have." Ben retorted, unwilling to absolve himself just yet. "He deserved it. For everything he did to Padme and to the Jedi and to me, he deserved to die."

"I don’t dispute that but you  _did_  lower your weapon and that makes a good deal of difference." Chris sucked in his breath and sought the words to say that would make Ben believe he had done no wrong. "Ben, there are very few of us left and after what we’ve lived through and what we’ve seen, we’ve learnt we can never be complacent about anything again. We existed for millennia and perhaps we grew arrogant enough to believe the Order was untouchable. It was our folly and perhaps it was inevitable someone like Anakin would be the instrument of our destruction. You trained him because you sensed potential in him. There is no wrong in that."

Ben stood up abruptly and started pacing. "I should not have disobeyed the Council! He should never have been trained!"

Chris dropped his gaze and collected his thoughts to counteract that argument. "You sensed potential in him. He was the Vergence. His coming was foretold by prophecy, he would bring balance to the Force. You thought you were doing the right thing and there is never any harm in that. Not even Yoda anticipated what Anakin would do even though he feared him. If Yoda had do you think the Council would have allowed you to continue as Anakin’s master?"

"No," Ben could not fault Chris logic but that did not change his guilt. "He was like my family Chris," Ben met his eyes. "He was a child when he came to me and he was more than just my  _padwan_. I saw him grow from a boy into a man and you cannot know what agony it is to see someone you love and cherish become a monster."

"No," Chris shook his head. "I don’t know what that feels like but I do know about pain. I also know you're my friend and that you feel too much sorrow to ever fall to the dark side. If you must make absolution for perceived sins then you should do it by guarding Luke, by making certain he grows to be a man that is untouched by Vader or the Emperor’s darkness. You have to do it for yourself and you have to do it for Padme and the twins."

"You are right of course," Ben conceded. He had seen his destiny and it lay with Anakin’s son. He had to be strong to guide Luke in the difficult path that lay ahead. It would be difficult enough without Ben complicating matters by being absent when Luke needed him. "I have to prepare the boy for what lies ahead. I have to deliver him to Yoda. His destiny lies with Vader, not my own."

"Yes it does and one other thing," Chris looked at him and wished him to understand this because for a long time, Chris had trouble wrapping his mind around the same thing as well, particularly after Saran and Adam had died. "You are not alone Ben. You will never be alone. If you ever need us, you’ll only need to call. My friends and I, all seven of us will be at your side no matter what the circumstances. Only Vin and I know about Luke and Leia but the others would die to protect them both just as we would."

"I noticed that," Ben smiled. "They’re good men, your friends."

"They are," Chris agreed without hesitation. "And they’re yours too. So come join us, I think we’re missing out on a little party."

"Well we did manage the impossible." Ben pointed out, his spirits lifting a little after his conversation with Chris. "There is some reason for celebration."

"And there will be hell to pay when the dust settles but right now," Chris grinned. "Let’s enjoy the moment while it lasts."

"You know you’re much more relaxed these days," Ben pointed out as they started towards the door. "I can’t imagine why Vin calls you grim and broody."

Chris shot him a look. "Grim and broody?"

"Yeah but on your more pleasant days," Ben teased.

Chris turned away muttering, "this from the man who took a month to put a light sabre together....."

**THE END**


End file.
